Incursio
by Mr. Omelette
Summary: Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. Madoka just wants cake. And Kyoko somehow ends up halfway across the globe.
1. Prologue

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **Just the Rebellion movie

**A/N: **...because really, I'm surprised no one has thought about this yet. IF the response is good, I will continue this.

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p>After the [Demon] ascended (or descended) to a higher plane of existence, outside the existence of a linear time, she'd finally been able to observe all possible outcomes of the multiverse. Of course, [Deviations] still occurred, but she has contingency plans for these things in the case that these [Deviations] would overlap with her best friend.<p>

Many a universes, the Demon observed, were filled with timelines where the race of the Incubators were subjugated by other races. In one, the Chitauri conquered the race with the help of an Eternal; in another universe, the race was obliterated by the Kree after winning their Kree-Skrull war; another by Cephalopods with superior technology; another too by the Skrull when they had won the Kree-Skrull war. Shuma-gorath faced against the Incubator race as well and defeated it. Dormammu tried too and prevailed.

Many universes also had the Incubators obliterated by other stronger forces. The [Devourer of Worlds] once stumbled upon the Incubator's planet and consumed it within five hours. A darkened [Force of the Phoenix]'s host, in another universe, destroyed the race with a blink of it's eye because the Incubators tried to study it. In another, a meteor collided with the planet just when their race was beginning to show technological progress.

The [Demon] that is Homura Akemi found out in the timelines and universes where the Incubators were no more that their universe ended just a little bit (and only so because she is no longer linear) earlier than that where the Incubators prevailed and exploited other planets.

The [End] was inevitable, of course, but she's got more important matters to attend to, mainly keeping the [Goddess] suppressed so her best friend could be happy.

The [Mermaid] tried to help the [Goddess], plotted to free her to an existence of selflessness and obscurity, and one time, the [Mermaid] was able to get the help of the [Red Wudan] and the [Adorning Yellow]. But Homura has seen most, if not all, of the possible outcomes and Sayaka's plan had been thwarted time and time again. If Madoka's old memories didn't have strong attachments to the [Mermaid], then Homura would've banished her just like Kyoko Sakura and Mami Tomoe in other universes.

Speaking of Kyoko and Mami, the [Demon] looked over to where she'd banished the two. Mami was in a timeline where her powers were sealed because the Earth of her prison was so ordinary, magic was literally just a figment of imagination. Kyoko was on a timeline where the currently un-subjugated Incubator race was exploiting the savagery of the races of the Skrull and Kree, ensuring that the planet Earth was free from its paws. Surprisingly, Yuma Chitose (probably due to the nature of her [Wish]) ended up getting dragged with her.

"Homura-chan..." Homura looked over to her side, and saw Madoka looking at her, "Aren't you gonna eat that?" The imprisoned [Goddess] pointed at her friend's unfinished slice of chocolate cake.

The [Demon] smiled at her beloved best friend, "Let's share mine." In turn, Madoka giggled and stabbed the treat with her fork.


	2. Parode: Strophe

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **Just the Rebellion movie.

**A/N: **...this will be a pretty short chapter-ed fic.

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 1<strong>

* * *

><p>Natasha Romanoff studied the redhead from afar. She was no more than fourteen; five feet tall, red hair held in a ponytail, with a personality that reflected said red hair.<p>

Of course, the Black Widow was supposed to be surveying the defrosted Steve Rogers, but so far, Steve Rogers has been making her job very easy by mostly keeping to himself inside his small apartment.

She looked back and made sure that the captain was still in his room, before returning to the redhead that lived next door. At first she thought the girl was a mute, but one time when Natasha was walking the halls, she heard _Japanese _words coming out from her mouth.

"_I could use some Pocky right now._" was what she said, with a style of speech that was very distinct. Turns out, the girl Natasha was observing could only speak Japanese, which kind of gave the agent a feeling that the girl got here due to unsavory reasons. Like human trafficking or something.

Somehow, the girl reminded Natasha of a girl from a distant memory. She could see a little bit of her old self on this young one, especially with the girl's red hair. The owner of the building didn't really bother to keep up with the names of his tenants (so long as they paid the rent on time and don't wreck the place) so getting the name of the young girl took quite a bit of effort.

Asking the neighbors proved futile too since most of them only cared about themselves, and quite a few of them were local thugs, thugs who she had placed in their proper places after they made their unscrupulous moves on her.

The young girl had no file on S.H.I.E.L.D. - which should've garnered suspicion - but most of the people she worked with on this case was pretty sure a preteen redhead would be the most unlikely candidate to do something harmful to one Steve Rogers. He is _Steve Rogers_, after all.

But then again, Natasha was a preteen when...

Anyway, Natasha shouldn't really think much about the young girl too if not for the fact that she was trying to support a younger girl. If one were to look inside their windows, and really that's what she did most of the time, one would find a young girl, no older than eight, inside.

There was a vibrating sound on her pocket, and she answered the call on her cell.

"Black Widow, you have been reassigned." And the call was killed and Natasha could only sigh as she turned around and quickly left the building.

* * *

><p>On the room where Kyoko Sakura stayed, the young redhead felt the tension on her body slide upon noticing the older redhead leave. She was good, with her stealth and all but Kyoko Sakura had pretty much mastered her [Soul Gem] - that is, her magic was now able to pick up people around her. Blind spots were pretty much nonexistent when you're a seasoned [Puella Magi].<p>

Waking up and finding yourself halfway across the globe was what happened to her, after that strange but vivid dreams of nutcrackers and mermaids. One moment Kyoko was happily eating ramen on her favorite restaurant in Japan, and the next thing she knew, she's in a bed that's not her bed in a city that isn't her city. In Kazamino.

Yuma, somehow but fortunately, got dragged with her, but Yuma herself didn't know how she ended up here in America.

To make matters worse, no one in this city - no, continent - seemed to be like _them_. To prove this, Kyoko had scouted all over they city and the nearest two big cities, had checked for every nook and cranny in between the two big cities, had even _shouted_ telepathic messages for anyone, but no one answered her calls. Not even Kyubei. And that was the most unsettling part.

It was like, she and Yuma were the only [Puella Magi] in the continent. In this world even, if she were a tiny bit more paranoid.

Kyoko remembered her dream, the one with Witches and Magical Girls. But that doesn't seem to be the case here - she's not living in a dream. At least, she thinks she isn't asleep right now.

She's only been here for a week, and so far - even with the nearby cities - Kyoko hasn't seen any [Wraiths]. She and Yuma have their own supply of [Grief Cubes], but they both knew that their supply wouldn't last.

Kyoko sighed again; between raiding unsuspecting ATMs and checking for any sign of [Kyubei] or fellow [Puella Magi], she was starting to feel hopeless. Kyoko's [Soul Gem] was even getting more and more darker due to the distress they were under.

"I'm going out." she told Yuma. The young girl sat beside Kyoko in their couch, watching television. At first, Kyoko and Sakura made up their own dialogue on the foreign TV shows, but that novelty had faded when the two realized that they were truly alone here in this city.

"Where?" the young girl asked.

"Out." She walked to the front door, only to be stopped by Yuma.

"I'm coming with you, _onee-chan._"

"You're not."

"I am." The young girl's eyes were serious, "I'm worried too."

Kyoko sighed.


	3. Parode: Epode

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **Just the Rebellion movie

**A/N: **...short chapters.

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 2<strong>

* * *

><p>Yuma went home that day without a new supply of [Grief Cubes]. She patrolled the city with Kyoko for a few hours, even went to places where despair were stronger, but the [Wraiths] never showed.<p>

"How many [Cubes]?" Kyoko asked her when they settled down on the couch.

They didn't want to make sure because, supposedly, counting the number of one's [Cubes] was bad luck to [Magical Girls] but they were in dire times.

"A couple of handfuls," Yuma replied.

Kyoko was seriously feeling the stress.

That night, Yuma and Kyoko went into a seedy building - seedier than their own building - and let their juiced out [Grief Cubes] absorb the miasma of negative energy nestled in the place.

It was an experiment. There was a girl in Holland in a backwater village that had a scarcity of [Wraiths]. Or, the place didn't have enough negative energies that could manifest or attract [Wraiths]. Rumor has it that a travelling other girl stumbled upon the village one day, and came across the girl in the process. The other girl listened to the girl's plight and decided to give her some of her [Grief Cubes]. When the other girl left, the girl didn't surrender her [Grief Cubes] to Kyubei. Now, the juicy bit of this story is how the girl died one day because she didn't surrender her juiced out [Grief Cubes]. The general consensus among the [Puella Magi] was her [Grief Cubes] simply returned to becoming energized ones that spit forth [Wraiths], and attacking the girl when she had least expected it.

To Kyoko and Yuma, now was the time to test out the claim. That if they let their [Grief Cubes] absorb the dark miasma of a place, they could produce [Wraiths]. Like watching a sponge absorb water, the used up [Grief Cubes] - greying initially - refilled and started to turn black. When it was black enough, Kyoko tried to purify her [Gem], but nothing happened.

She let the tainting of their [Grief Cubes] shimmer some more and forty minutes later, the [Grief Cubes] simply _burst_ and gave birth to a dozen or so [Wraiths].

The two [Puella] dealt with the newly-born foes shortly, combining their powers and easily overwhelming the disoriented enemies to produce a 'new' batch of [Grief Cubes]. Replenished [Cubes] that healed their despairing [Soul Gems] with ease.

* * *

><p>In the following months, Kyoko would call it [Cube Farming] and the chore would be so droll that Kyoko would see it as a chore similar to washing the dishes.<p>

Fortunately, the city, her _new_ city, had enough grief and strife that replenishing their [Grief Cubes] were easier than hunting [Wraiths] that never showed.

Anyway, three months after their arrival, Kyoko and Yuma decided to go on a road trip. They decided to tour the entire continent to be precise. You know, to see if there were people like them.

Kyubei has yet to show his beady eyes, and that got Kyoko really worried.

Kyoko stipulated that if Kyubei wasn't showing himself, because of some reason, then they would better be off trying to find the stupid creature. And in their search for the stupid white creature they come across a girl like Kyoko and Yuma, then more power to the two of them because they could then ask the girl about the current situation regarding Kyubei's absence.

Sifting through every state in the country with a ruthlessly methodological way of telepathy, Yuma and Kyoko held onto their [Soul Gems] with uncertainty. But no one answered. No [Wraiths] showed. And Kyoko was really tempted to go back to Japan to see if others like her existed there. But then, Yuma actually started to like America. It took her quite a while, but the young greenette learned how to speak English in a way that was a little more fluent than Kyoko, in a pace that was quite monstrous for Kyoko's liking. That was one of the reasons why Yuma loved America. One should also note that Yuma's love for the country grew so much that it evidently bled right to Kyoko, in the form of food because the food, Kyoko reasoned, were pretty diverse here. While there was no lack of talented Japanese cuisine masters here in New York that could her remind of her home, Kyoko also learned to love a genuine Manhattan pizza.

Quietly, Kyoko and Yuma both resigned to their fates of being stranded in such a strange place... a strange but somewhat wonderful place.


	4. Parode: Antistrophe

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **Just the Rebellion movie

**A/N: **...I like turtles.

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 3<strong>

* * *

><p>"Yuma, I'm going out." They've been here for six month, their new lifestyle left a lot to be desired, and Yuma has voiced out that she hasn't felt like a 'warrior of justice' in months. This earned a light smack on the head from Kyoko and a reprimand that that line of thinking was suited only for the best, like Mami and Kyoko, and not for a newbie like Yuma.<p>

The two had resorted to conserving their supply of [Grief Cubes], only using their powers if they absolutely have to because of how tedious it is [Farming] them. With conserving, they were forced to do things in a simple way; travelling using public transportion, scouting for [Wraiths] in their depowered state (just in case), and generally snooping around when other 'supers' showed themselves. Like that green guy called Hulk, the Fantastic Four, and those mutants. Yuma has a particularly adorable crush on Johnny Storm, and Kyoko would lightly tease her whenever news about the blond man was shown on their TV.

They even saw Spider-Man once. The two were roaming around the country when it happen. They saw the Web-Crawler during the time when this person called Lizard wreaked havoc; Kyoko and Sakura were atop a building watching as Spider-Man web-swinged his way into Oscorp.

The good thing with staying in a different country was quickly learning how to speak English. Sure, Kyoko was accented, but Yuma was a prodigy when it came to the foreign language.

"Sure, _onee-chan_." Still, Yuma didn't drop her Japanese honorfics when it came to Kyoko.

When the door closed, and when Kyoko was nowhere near the building, Yuma quickly ran for the door and made way to her neighbor, "Mr. Rogers!" because her blonde neighbor looked like he needed a friend. And, frankly, Mr. Rogers didn't know how to fend for himself, read: cook. And Yuma was more than happy to cook for his neighbor.

* * *

><p>"Let's watch some TV, Mr. Rogers!" Yuma said as she untied the knot of her apron and hanged it on the wall. Sure, Mr. Rogers was no Johnny Storm, but they somehow had a resemblance in their physical features. Personality wise, they were as different as the two points of a line.<p>

Johnny Storm, from the media, was a charismatic playboy superhero that was adored by most of the populace, and that's all that Yuma knew. She was contented with that, and was really at awe at all the beautiful girls that the Human Torch managed to snag. Kyoko called it a crush, but Yuma was mature enough to know that it was only a celebrity crush. Not serious, and kind of pointless.

Steve Rogers, on the other hand, was also charismatic. In a silent, controlled and gentlemanly kind of way. He was sorta like the clueless older, college-age brother Yuma never had. You know, the one that made all little sisters protective of their super nice _oni-san_, the one known as the gatekeepers to said _oni-san_'s girlfriends. She even liked taking care of the young man, like cooking meals for him (because he's helpless with a stove), helping him clean his place, and generally spending time with the young man.

Besides, Mr. Rogers had this look that he was lonely.

Yuma doesn't like seeing that lonely look.


	5. Act 0: Introduction

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **Just the Rebellion movie

**A/N: **...apples are amazing. In the upcoming Chitauri invasion of this fic, I'm thinking of showcasing more Puella girls or Witches. But I'm kinda limiting it to five or so. Who I want to be there are Wakaba, Kazumi and the witch Patricia. The other two, I'm thinking of Mami and someone else. 'Cause I want a scene between Mami and Punisher :D

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 4<strong>

* * *

><p>Steve knocked on the room where Yuma stayed. To think that his closest friend right now was a girl no older than eight.<p>

He was going home from the grocery store one day, (the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D even let him go out that day was amazing) balancing three paper bags, when he felt the tuggings on his pants. She introduced herself as the kid next door and offered to help him bring his bags for him.

In the neighborhood where he was in, such offers were frowned upon because that is one of the many _modus operandi_ of grifters and thieves. However, Steve liked to think he was a great judge of character, so he agreed and let Yuma have the paper bag that contained his vegetables.

Since then, Yuma has become the little sister he wished he had. Kind, compassionate and caring, if it weren't for her age, one would think she was a younger sister that was only a few years younger than him.

Standing for a few more seconds, the locks of the door clicked and a redhead preteen emerged from the door.

"Yes?" Her tone was accented, and it came out with a '-su' in the end.

"Are you Yuma's sister?"

Of course _onee-chan _was just an endearment. The translation was a little off but then again, Kyoko treated Yuma like how she treated Momo.

"Yes. How can I help you?" Her accent made the 'you' sound like 'ru'.

* * *

><p>One day, when Kyoko was staking one of the ATMs near their residence, she was stopped by a floating man in red. Armor. Floating man in red armor.<p>

It was easy enough fleeing from the person, but subsequently, most of the ATMs increasingly got harder and harder to break in after that run-in.

* * *

><p>It started out as a once-a-week thing, but then it grew to a thrice-a-week thing, and finally, Steve Rogers was always present during dinner.<p>

Steve never told Yuma and Kyoko how much it bothered him that it was only the two of them, and he secretly vowed to himself to be as much of the adult that the two desperately needed.

Kyoko and Steve never clicked, however, but Steve was polite enough and Kyoko was only wary because she doesn't really know how to interact with males of his age. Still, for Yuma, they were willing to put up with the awkwardness and still eat like a family.

* * *

><p>One day, Yuma and Kyoko somehow ended up in New York. The two Puella Magi felt a strong pull here. It felt familiar but at the same time it was different. At first, it was innocent enough, like a hum or a whisper that was part of the noise outside. Then the pull became more and more... <em>louder<em>. Demanding attention to the two young girls.

It was the pink elephant in the room, and even Steve knew that something was bothering the two girls.

So a week earlier, Kyoko decided that they check it out. Whatever it is that made Kyoko itch and itch, and Yuma fidget like there she was shivering from the cold. With the money Kyoko had on her ATM stake outs, they were able to travel quite easily and comfortable.

On the night the two young girls decided to leave, Kyoko was the one who told Steve that they were leaving. It would've been better if what she told him were written on a letter, but Kyoko nor Yuma knew how to write in English.

Steve silently voiced out his concern, that he should at least accompany them, but Kyoko stood firm and strong. Even a little cold to the blond man. And when the young man didn't budge as well, Kyoko was forced to use a little bit of her magic, and knock Steve out with a sleeping spell.

Yuma and Kyoko both knew that they were suffering a painfully slow death, their supply of [Grief Cubes] no longer giving them a sense of immortality or invincibility once Yuma and Kyoko realized that it was only just them in this place. The feeling of isolation was so ruthless that any hope they had was quickly crushed and destroyed. Besides, the embrace of the indelible [Law of Cycles] wasn't cold nor was it painful. And when they accepted that, somehow, the impurity rate of the Gems visibly _slowed_ down.

At one point, Kyoko even realized that dying would be the only way to get through this.

Which earned a smack from _Yuma_ and a short but powerful monologue from the young girl. "_Sure, we're alone. And sure, we'll die. But that day is not today!"_ the younger girl had told her. And the day when the two would stop using their [Grief Cubes] was far, far away.

"_Over there_!" Yuma said in Japanese and pointed at the tallest tower they could see. On a building that had a huge "STARK" sign on it.

Looking at it, Kyoko nodded and grabbed Yuma's hands. While dying would be eventual to everything, more so to Puella Magi, Yuma's words rang through her head; today is not that day. She would keep that in mind. And for the upcoming battle, it would be her driving force that kept her from falling into despair.

And that's when she saw a pillar of light emerge from the Stark Tower.


	6. Act 0:2

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **Just the Rebellion movie

**A/N: **...updated earlier because I'm excited about the new Captain America movie :D

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 5<strong>

* * *

><p>Steve Rogers was frustrated. The two people he finally managed to connect with were gone. Yuma and Kyoko might be two children shrouded in mystery but it's not like he was a shining beacon of transparency either.<p>

Everyone has secrets. That's probably a given.

But Steve wanted to think that despite their secrecy and need of it, the three of them were like... a dysfunctionally functioning family. With a bond strong enough that they'd stick together. If only he tried to be more assertive with Kyoko, he'd be with them right now - S.H.I.E.L.D. be damned and all. How did she manage to knock him out in the first place?

His final blow on the sandbag sent the heavy thing hurling across the room.

"Trouble sleeping?" A commanding, authoritative voice came from his behind.

"Slept for seventy years, sir. I think I've had my fill."

Colonel Fury and he had a superficial small talk, but Steve knew he was not here for a social call.

"...we've made some mistakes along the way. Some very recently."

"You here with a mission, sir?" He was unwrapping the bandages wrapped around his knuckles. Not that he needed to wrap his hands in bandages as he punch piles of sandbags, but it gave Steve a feeling of normalcy.

"I am."

"Trying to get me back to the world?"

"Trying to save it."

Steve knew he was still a soldier at heart so he accepted.

Colonel Fury showed him a folder. Of a thing called the [Tessaract]. And Loki. And complicated things that somehow, but not really, made Steve forget about Yuma and Kyoko.

Just when he was out of the room, Colonel Fury called out to him. "I can help you look for them, you know. Those two kids." _In exchange for your help_. It wasn't said but Steve knew Colonel and the Colonel knew Steve.

* * *

><p>Colonel Fury held little concern over the two kids that Steve Rogers seemed to have befriended. Concern that the two children would do the first ever superhero harm. Steve could use friends, after all, no matter what the age of those friends might be.<p>

Secretly, he was a little relieved that the blond man finally started to become human again after spending time with the two children, especially the younger girl.

Somehow, the two of them managed to slip under the radar of S.H.I.E.L.D. when they left. With the resources provided by S.H.I.E.L.D., it was would probably be not that hard to find two children.

Some time after recruiting Steve Rogers, Colonel Fury would realize that he didn't really need to look further.

* * *

><p>[Soul Gems] have a built-in system that negates most, if not all, surveillance systems. It lies dormant when a [Puella Magi] wasn't activating her magic. When the Magical Girl transformed, her [Soul Gem] has the ability to disorient video and audio surveillance, and these things even manage to block away satellite feed. It was primarily the reason why the Incubator race and [Puella Magi] are so good at not being exposed.<p>

The Earth of Kyoko's prison is not as technologically advanced as her home universe, so whenever the two young girls would transform, video cameras would malfunction, microphones wouldn't record anything, and a few curious S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, who checked on Steve Rogers, would end up scratching their heads at the anomalies that surrounded the two girls.

Still, it was almost unanimous that the mystery that encompassed the two kids didn't weight as much as the positive influence they had on their hero, Steve Rogers, so they generally left the two kids alone.

However, in a few month's time, Stark Industries would advance the Earth's technology far enough that the technology dampening features of their [Soul Gems] would be... dampened.

When the pillar of light appeared from Stark Tower that on that fateful day, the two girls didn't really need the built-in system.


	7. Act 0:3

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **The Rebellion and Avengers (2012) movie

**A/N: **...italicized conversations mean that it's spoken in Japanese.

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 6<strong>

* * *

><p>"What's happening?" Suddenly, the pillar of light from Stark Tower tore a hole in the sky, and these... humanoid things descended from the hole.<p>

Explosions were heard all throughout The city, and Yuma looked expectantly at Kyoko. Expectantly because Kyoko usually had all the answers and the plans. But the older redhead simply shook her head. "We're... no, not yet."

With a wary glance at the descending madness from the sky, Kyoko pressed on - determined to find the itch that kept nagging her.

* * *

><p>In another universe, on the other side of the globe, a pinkette was walking home with her two friends. School was extra tiring today because they had been preparing for a school festival.<p>

"Homura-chan! Let's go eat out!"

The raven-haired young girl - this being simply known as [Demon] - smiled at her. "Sure." A single step forward, and Homura felt a stir in the air.

"...Kyoko."

* * *

><p>People ran away from the inhumane hole in the sky. As these monsters rained down hell on the city. Thankfully, Yuma and Kyoko had the passive reflexes given by their [Soul Gem] otherwise the two would be under dirt and debris by now. They had even managed to dodge and elude these things.<p>

Cries of help and screams of pain were muted out by explosions that filled the street they were in. The police might have been assembled, but Kyoko knew they were ill-equipped in handling this situation.

The redhead cursed under hear breath as one of the stationed guards saw the two of them.

"Hey, you there!" It was a young, fit police officer with chiselled features.

"_Onee-chan_..." Yuma shied away from the approaching officer.

"What are you two doing-" Perhaps, if he hadn't turned his back on the flying _aliens_ he would've dodged it, but that happened in another universe. A universe where Homura hadn't imprisoned two [Puella Magi] in New York City. Alas, it happened, and a stray laser beam had found the officer's chest, piercing it, and obliterating all he flesh that the laser touched.

Yuma gasped. One should think that she should be used to this by now, considering she'd been fighting [Wraiths] in her hometown - [Wraiths] who sometimes brutally killed innocent people - but it has been _months _since her last run in with them.

The officer still tried to sit. "R-run!"

Kyoko would've nodded and turned and flee. But Yuma was there. And Yuma took matters into her own hands. The young greenette summoned her [Soul Gem] from her [Soul Ring].

"Don't worry." Yuma smiled at the young man before she was enveloped in a bright flash of light.

* * *

><p>Officer Morelli had been a corrupt officer in his life.<p>

Sure, the first three years, he'd been a pretty clean officer who was only more concerned with keeping the city safe. But then bills were piling up, and while being in NYPD was a respectable job, it didn't provide officer Tony Morelli with as much economic security as he liked.

He found another officer with a seedy side job, and he wanted in on it, thinking that he was only doing this because the situation was pretty tight. But then, he got deeper and deeper into the corruption in a way that he knew he would never be clean again. Sure, he still kept the city clean, but there are things in his city that he couldn't, wouldn't and shouldn't clean. Else he be flushed down the drain with all the dirt he had accumulated.

And now, right now, he and his group of officers who were barricading this street,were pretty sure Armageddon was upon them. He had his gun in his hand, aiming on the flying things that fired freaken _lasers_ on any human that moved when he saw two children running _towards_ the hole in the sky.

The pain in his chest was becoming more unbearable. "What a-are... you doing... here? R-run!" he was starting to wheeze too, and his mouth and throat was piling up with blood.

But then, the green-haired kid suddenly glowed, and officer Tony Morelli figured that he had died that day. Only he didn't.

The pain in his chest slowly faded away. He was aware that he was lying on the ground, and he could still hear the loud carnage all around his city, so he fluttered his eyes open.

The girl was smiling down on him. Like a guardian angel. "You're okay now."

He was pretty out of it, and he smiled at the young girl. If he was any more lucid, he would realize that the young girl was no angel; no halo, no wings, and no he wasn't floating above some stupid clouds. Still, he'd like to think that he's seen an angel.

And when this whole ordeal was done, he'd try - very hard - to scrub off all the dirt that his career and his life has accumulated, and he'd struggle about it for almost all his life, but he would think and believe that this is just his way of making up with all the time he spent trying to be greedy and corrupt.

* * *

><p>"<em>That's enough Yuma<em>." Kyoko placed a hand on the younger girl. Yuma's [Gem] just got duller with the energy she so carelessly used on this stranger. She knew that the more fatal the injury Yuma heals, the more stress it causes on her [Gem]. Noble her actions might be, it wouldn't do her good when she'd actually need the energy she had used on a life-threatening situation.

The redhead hasn't transformed yet, and maybe she should, but someone's voice broke her train of thought.

"You need men in these buildings." His voice was calm and collected. Leader-like as well.

"...you keep them off the streets." It sounded awfully familiar. But it came from a man in a... blue suit. With an American Flag theme completed with an American-themed shield.

And then Kyoko saw this man fight these monsters with ease. It couldn't be her mild-mannered neighbor.

_A superhero_. She thought. _But Steve isn't cut out to be a superhero_.

The young man in the blue suit caught a glimpse of her and Yuma, and Kyoko visibly saw him tense. "Yuma... Kyoko."

Yuma actually cheered. "Mr. Rogers!"

While the the leader of the group of officers Steve has just saved tried to rally his people, Kyoko saw that Steve now was the one who was caught off-guard.

"What are you both doing here? It dangerous right now." He then used his shield to deflect a laser beam that was aimed on his torso. If he had been any more focused, then he would find it curious that Yuma was in a very... costume-y garment.

Steve then ordered one of the police officers to escort the two children to safety. On one of the subway tunnels. But not before Steve yelled at Kyoko and Yuma, "We'll talk later."


	8. Act 0:4

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **The Rebellion and Avengers (2012) movie

**A/N: **...italicized conversations mean that it's spoken in Japanese.

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 7<strong>

* * *

><p>Considering the current state of [Magic], Ian McNee knew that there was something odd going on even when the [Structures] that comprised [Magic] were unstable at the moment.<p>

Before lunch, just like every other week, Ian McNee consulted the First Tarot. Before, he used it to see just how far his mission has gone through from its initial stages. The imbalance certainly made [Reading] the First Tarot a pretty interesting feat. To see the probabilities of candidates for each [Arcana] shifting like formless water.

However, today, when he had consulted his First Tarot, there was something going on with the balance. Particularly with the [Arcana] of the magus. A new, unheard of, and definitely anonymously faceless _young girl_ has showed up. Yes, faceless. From what he could tell she was young and had red hair, but all of her features were blurred.

These things usually happened, how a new face would show up on the First Tarot, like how a budding sorceress or wizard would appear, but this was the [Magician Arcana] we're talking about. A given title that usually belonged to those who strongly resembled or emanated the craft of the arcane _ars_. Usually, new faces started from the four basic [Houses]: Swords, Cups, Pentacles or Wands. Especially Wands.

No one, especially a faceless, anonymous,_ newbie_ would be elevated to that of status usually designated to the current Sorcerer Supreme. It bothered Ian McNee so much because this faceless being, summarily named either as [Kyoko] and/_or_ [Ophelia] had the statistical probability of four out of ten times. Taking up the four slots designated to Doctor Strange, and overshadowing his own one out of ten times.

It also bothered him that if this young one was truly a newbie, then her current magical output, not including her untapped, _latent_ powers, already managed to outshine him - Ian McNee - with at least a decade of magical tutelage under his belt.

The anonymity has bothered his so much, too, that right after lunch, he had phoned his reliable circle of magical colleagues to ask of such a being, and they too don't know her. Is she a new player? Is she a threat? Would her presence greatly shift the tides of his mission?

If this girl were to truly become a connoisseur in their _ars magus_, then Ian reckoned that she will hold title of Supreme Sorceress (capable of subjugating lesser dimensions in a few _weeks_) for at least half a millenia on the next election.

And just when he thought things couldn't get worse, the First Tarot revealed a new card. [Card Zero].

Designation: [The Fool]  
>Holder: [HOMULILLY: the Nutcracker Witch of the Mortal World]<p>

Ian McNee could only hope that the simmering events would be towards his favor. Because, now that [The Fool] has shown its face, it probably meant that magic was realigning itself again. But [Fools] are known to be the wild cards of the [Deck], capable of random alignments. Alignments that even included chaotic-good, lawful-evil, even a neutral-neutral stance.

He was deep in thought when he saw, right outside of his magic shop, the 'Cornerstone of Creation', a pillar of light emerging from the Stark Tower.

* * *

><p>The [Demon] and the [Goddess] might be new cosmic entities, but the power they wield were so great that other cosmic entities certainly embraced them into their fold.<p>

The incubator might have designated them as gods but these cosmic entities considered them far greater than a god: they were one of them. A concept.

Madoka was wholly welcomed by the majority, specifically Eternity, Infinity, Master Order, Lord Chaos _and _Galactus. Death and Oblivion? Her existence, [Hope], made the [End] more worthwhile so they had to respect that and Madoka.

Eternity accepted Madoka's place beside them because of representing the 'will' and 'willpower' of _every_ life form to move forward. To progress. To further evolution. That in order for those who have evolved and gained sentience to move further, they have to have [Hope].

Infinity believed in Madoka. And that itself made Eternity further respect Madoka's place in the Greater Picture.

Master Order and Lord Chaos agreed that hope was needed. Very needed so they accepted her without question.

And Galactus? Let's just say that he hopes to keep doing what he does. Besides, Kriemhild Gretchen, if she persisted in her existence, would also be known as the [Devourer of Worlds]. And two of those things would greatly imbalance everything.

Also, all of Madoka's heralds, her [Puella Magi], kept their plane of existence loud and strangely full and _fun_.

Homura was accepted with less warmth than the [Goddess]. Sure she spliced Madoka's new existence in half, imprisoning the part that is human in Madoka in her own little universe, but the other cosmic entities agreed with a very minute spec of grudge that Homura's new existence proved a necessary balance after the birth of Madoka; that [Time] is the product and the beginning of [Hope]. Eternity was willing to share his very concept to the black-haired girl, probably because Homura helped stop the incubator race from interfering with his daughter, Entropy.

Speaking of humans. Eternity look on in a certain universe where, currently, a pillar of light and the army of Thanos was wreaking havoc on Earth. He then shifted his gaze to one Ian McNee.

Quickly scanning his thoughts, Eternity knew the answer as to why the being known as [Kyoko] quickly reached the candidacy for the [Magician Arcana]: when Homura imprisoned Kyoko, she didn't just imprison the Kyoko Sakura that was in her dimension - she compressed all of the Kyoko Sakuras all over the multiverse into one host. Whereas Madoka gained strength and power through Homura's [Timeline Resets], Kyoko increased her power due to being condensed.

Basically, after Homura compressed all that is [Kyoko] across the timelines into a single unit, her latent and actual magical potential were increased into a _million_fold. To begin with, her karmic destiny wasn't that great - a drop of water as compared to that of a queen's karmic destiny, but when Homura squeezed everything into a _single_ unit, well, they say rain is more than a million drops of water. Yuma, well, she's an anomaly - there exists a [Yuma Chitose] all over the multiverse, but this particular Yuma Chitose was _different_.

And the fact that Homura still holds Kyoko imprisoned - and by extension, Yuma - the despairing of their [Soul Gems] were significantly reduced. That was why, even if the two weren't conserving their supply of [Grief Cubes], they wouldn't succumb to despair that easily.

Eternity looked on, as the Chitauri flew down from the hole in the sky.

* * *

><p>Hurried footsteps echoed around the dark tunnels of the subway. Kyoko and Sakura were accompanied by a different officer. With them were other people who had been rescued by the police force.<p>

"_Hey, Onee-chan_..." Yuma was speaking in low tones and in Japanese, "_What do we do now?"_

Kyoko sighed. While the annoying itch throbbed within her very psyche, like that of the pull of a strong [Wraith], Kyoko knew when to retreat. Having learned that from her early days, after the demise of her family. Granted, once upon a time, an idealist Kyoko would've fought on 'til her last dying breath, in the name of justice and goodness, but that Kyoko is dead. Dead along with the three bodies she had buried in her memories. The Kyoko that remained was the Kyoko who chose her battles wisely. The Kyoko who permitted more greys into her black-and-white world than she wanted to.

They had to survive first. They need to survive first.

"_We're... going home._"

Yuma sighed too. It worried her that Mr. Rogers was here, acting like a superhero. In her eyes, Steve Rogers is a good man. Polite, nice, and ordinary; those were the words that best describe the honest man. Just sometime ago, Yuma had introduced to him the sneezing baby panda video on YouTube, and Steve Rogers loved it. The Steve Rogers that Yuma knew of could not and would not have pulled such a stunt as trying to fight these monsters from the sky.

"_But what about..._"

"_He'll be fine._" Which was a total lie because Kyoko knew that it was herself she was trying to convince not Yuma. Steve Rogers doesn't even know what a blender is, and had actually jumped out of his seat when Yuma once tried to make a milkshake, cowered at all the noise the appliance created. All this fighting? He wouldn't have it in him. And if he did know how to fight, well, heroes all end up despairing and then they're dead.

Any more of the conversations halted when they felt the earth shake, followed by an explosion that rocked the subway tunnels again. By pure reflex, Kyoko was just about to summon her [Soul Gem], only to realize again that this wasn't their battle. This place was a pretty complicated place; if it had been [Wraiths], Kyoko would've suited up and would've been piercing the enemy with her spear, and the [Wraiths] wouldn't know what hit them. But that wasn't the case here. These invaders, whatever they're called, they aren't to be fought by people like her.

A hole suddenly formed from the ceiling, light illuminating the entire crowded hallway. "They're coming..."

And like bottled-up fireflies emerging from their prison, a small group of the invaders descended from the hole. Up close, Kyoko realized that they had humanoid forms. She wasn't even sure if they were truly alive because these looked like... cyborgs. All her manga knowledge was telling her that these were probably more durable than the normal human and bullets wouldn't work, so she smothered a curse that threatened to erupt from her lips as the policemen escorting them to down the tunnels pulled their guns and started shooting the cyborgs.

It turns out, however, that their guns _were_ of use because a few of the enemies fell down and never came up.

"Get everyone to safety!" The leader of the policemen group yelled through the gunshots. People were already running away from skirmish, but they were in disarray. A young policeman volunteered and tried to cause order in the panicking citizens but Kyoko wasn't focused on him or the people.

"_Yuma, what are you doing_?" The girl in question ran to the aid of a fallen police officer, one who got shot in the chest. The officer near the injured man was using his hands to stop the bleeding, when Yuma knelt beside them.

"Hey kid! What're you still doing here?!" The policeman yelled in a panicked frenzy, between keeping his comrade alive, the foes, and this kid, his mind was being overloaded with what he's supposed to do.

Kyoko was already after Yuma, but Yuma was already using her magic. Her green magical glyph appeared on the ground, forming a soft breeze on the the those inside it.

"Wha-what's going on?" The uninjured man watched in awe and in surprise as the labored breathing of his fellow officer steadied. The cartoon-y circle - filled with panda faces and stars - glowed a soothing yet eerie green light. A few seconds passed and the wound no longer throbbed nor did it spew blood, until such a time that the injured man has his eyes opened and was staring at them with wonder and awe.

The two men didn't get to say anything else because there was another explosion nearby, widening the hole in the ceiling. More inhumane screeching were heard, and everyone knew that enemy reinforcements have arrived.

"Guh! We have to retreat!" Said the leader of the men defending the citizens.

The two males who witnessed Yuma's miracle suddenly broke free from their trance. The uninjured fellow now had stood up and had grabbed Yuma's hand while the uninjured man was already up and using his gun to shoot at the enemy invaders.

Kyoko had to bite the inside of her cheek. She shouldn't do this, and really it's all Yuma's fault but her hand's been forced because Yuma wouldn't have it in her to hurt the man trying to drag her away. So she transformed and had summoned her spear.

She then quickly grabbed the hand trying to drag Yuma away and peeled it off of her. The policeman was the sent a couple of feet away from them and the enemy because Kyoko threw him off.

"_Seriously, Yuma... We don't have the time and _[Grief Cubes]_ for this._"

"I know, _onee-chan_. But I've made up my mind; if someone like _Mr. Rogers _can go out and fight and help those people without power, then so can I." She said in English, and Kyoko understood that this Yuma is not the Yuma she met initially - the one who was scared and desperate.

Kyoko inwardly cringed. The healer types were usually more prone to rashness. "Fine." And she switched her spear into its snake form. She then rushed forward to where the enemies were at and quickly fought off the small group with ease.

Yuma smiled. _Onee-chan can be _such _a tsundere._


	9. Act 0:5

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **The Rebellion and Avengers (2012) movie

**A/N: **...italicized conversations mean that it's spoken in Japanese. I really like how Mockingbird has a bird theme, and her actually Alias is Roberta Morse and how Roberta the witch, has a bird theme :D And yes, Asgardians are not gods, but you get my point.

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 8<strong>

* * *

><p>"How's everything?" Nick Fury was not in a good mood. Generally, he was always not in a good mood. The events of the day, however, made his mood even more sour than before because freaken <em>aliens<em> tore open the sky and were causing carnage and destruction to his world. Yes, his world. Being the head of security for the world makes you entitled to call the world yours. Besides it took not only guts and experience to keep the world safe but also unimaginable patience, cool-headedness and foresight. And he was using all of those things because he'd break - and by extension, S.H.I.E.L.D. would break - if he cracked under the pressure.

Luckily, Maria Hill was a great help in easing the tension off of him. "We've got field agents stationed in New York City. All engaged in combat with the... foes." Maria was aware that they were aliens, but calling them as such still felt terrible for her mouth.

"In teams?"

"Most of them are forming into one now."

Nick Fury nodded, "And the main team?" He meant Iron Man, Captain Steve Rogers, Hawkeye, Black Widow and the Hulk. Their main response team - the Avengers Initiative.

"They're on the field." Which meant, to Nick Fury, that they were doing good. The wizened man looked at the screen above, ignoring the shouting and the disorganized kind of organized chaos that was happening in the command center. This was his world. _His._ And he'll do everything in his power to protect it.

His thoughts were interrupted when a staff called out to him, telling him that the directors wanted a word with him.

* * *

><p>Barbara 'Bobbi' Morse was clearly not having a good day. The one time S.H.I.E.L.D. actually let her have a day off, stupid extraterrestrials decided to rain down from the sky.<p>

She's been in the organization for as long as Clint and Tasha was. The three of them even teamed up on more than one occasion - like that time in Budapest - but, unfortunately, the Colonel decided that she'd be better off being as a reserve member. Not that her abilities were below her fellow agents; Clint might be better with a bow, but Bobbi's better with her bo staff. And sure, Tasha might be better at espionage, but Bobbi was pretty sure she's a little bit better with hand-to-hand combat compared to her. Nick Fury, and Bobbi too, understood that if either Tasha or Clint, God forbid, fell, Bobbi would be the first replacement, narrowly defeating Melinda May in being first place.

Villains didn't call her Mockingbird because she's weak, you know.

Her blond locks were tied in a ponytail as she used her technologically enhanced bo against these aliens. It would've been better if she was dressed in her agent uniform, but her white blouse, jeans and Chanel boots would have to do - no matter how much she just wanted to cry because her clothes would be ruined if she managed to survive this-especially her boots.

She should've spent her day off in a beach or something, not in New York City.

The ear piece she had placed on her ear, just after watching these aliens descend from the sky, rang a beeping sound. She was fighting five foot soldiers, and while she was outnumbered, she wasn't outmatched. Not really. She twirled her staff and smacked one humanoid enemy in the neck.

The screeching sound as the enemy was sent hurling five feet away was like music to her ears. Minus the part where it felt like nails scratching a blackboard multiplied by ten. The quick stunned look of her enemies was enough for her to finally answer the call. "Yeah?"

Good thing she was outside, because if she was in one of the tunnels, she wasn't sure if the signal would pull through, and she'd be alone.

"Agent 19, where are you?"

"You've got GPS, you should know that by now. And quit calling me by that name, Cotton. We've known each other for, what, six months now?" Figures she'd get stuck with a boy scout as her intel support. Then again, she'd rather it be a boy scout with a silky, somewhat robotic voice, than one with a coarser, hard voice - and let's not get started with the sarcastic, cursing ones. She's very lucky to have Cotton indeed.

Agent Cotton was assigned to her right after her previous one got promoted to a field agent - cause their people were spread out pretty thin that time with HYDRA. And while Cotton couldn't be any duller, his voice was pretty sexy, and that in turn made _him_ sexy - even if Bobbi has yet to see his face. She isn't even sure if Cotton is his first or last name. Sometimes, she actually tried to imagine what Agent Cotton would look like and she's pretty sure that he's either a brunet or had black hair, with a square jaw and defined cheekbones.

"I still feel uncomfortable calling you by your first and your nickname." And Mockingbird actually smiled, because she's pretty sure that Cotton's frowning, and somehow, in her head, it looked adorable on him. "...and you're smiling."

Barbara knew that he had camera feed on her, and she split her concentration a little from these aliens to try and locate the one that he's currently looking at.

She delivered a powerful kick to a nearby alien's stomach, used her staff as a balance, and twirled backwards because her enemies decided to use their beam weapons this time.

"Careful," Agent Cotton commented as she dodged their beams with finesse and ease. His tone was impassive, but it had just enough feeling that Bobbi was sure that he was genuinely worrying about her. Such is the curse of being stationed as tech or intel support - you get to watch your comrades fight from your damning safety, and everything inside you screams 'I have to be out there.' Luckily, Bobbi was being serious, despite her mask of assured-ness and self-confidence. She won't die today. Because once you get complacent, you'd end up dead.

She found cover in a car not far away, she knelt and looked at her supplies. She's got three weak sticky grenades, her staff and a couple of stunners. She might not be outmatched, but being outnumbered is pretty annoying.

"Will I have back-up?" She asked. She was so used to solo missions - she practically specialized in it (which was why she's a reserve member not part of the main team of the Avengers Initiative) - so she never and has never needed to ask for back-up. But... _freaken_ aliens.

Agent Cotton was silent for a moment, no doubt typing furiously on his computer console, before he answered, "I sent a request, but you're farther away than where the other field agents are."

"Well that's depressing." The aliens were almost a few feet away from her location, so she took charge and launcher her own counter attack, slithering between their formation, planting a sticky bomb on the one who took the right flank, twisting herself and using the alien's body as a shield because the alien's allies started shooting at her.

The humanoid alien she used as her shield died immediately, sparks and circuitry flying. Aware that the bomb stuck on the dead enemy was ticking, she then kicked the unmoving cyborg towards the nearest one and the two of them exploded.

Using the short confusion generated by the explosion, Bobbi threw her remaining sticky bombs at the enemy and used two stunners at the last one. Five seconds later, two explosions, and a twitching robot later, Bobbi looked at the nearest surveillance camera she can see, a triumphant smile on her face.

"Stylish." Cotton commented, and Bobbi was pretty sure that her partner's finally let out a sigh of relief and had actually leaned back on his seat, face mirroring her expression.

"Tell me what to do nex-" she stopped when she heard the click that signalled that the call was killed.

"Cotton?" Generally, in their partnership, Bobbi was usually the one that killed the call. Cotton was never rude, nor was he the type to hang-up. Hanging-up were usually done by field agents, and Mockingbird is no exception. She'd vent, and he would tell her that she's just venting out on him, he was her stress ball (another curse of HQ-stationed agents) and he'll just accept it. He would never kill the call first. Never. So, the only explanation she could think of was someone might have been interfering with their communication.

It couldn't be the aliens, because if they had, they would've done it the moment they fell from the sky. Communication is just an important component of a seige as, say, weaponry. She had the latest tech equipment, easily eclipsing any secret and non-secret hostile organization's current technology out there (they're Stark Industry specs, after all) - because S.H.I.E.L.D. all knew them, and were watching them. So for someone or something to have the ability to interfere with her ear piece probably uses a more advanced technology that hers. And that bothered her a great deal.

She tried calling her headquarters again, thinking that maybe Cotton just accidentally just pressed the button that killed the call, thinking that maybe her ear piece's battery got fried or something. but one answered. No luck. She's in the woods blind. She only hoped that Agent Cotton could still see her _alive_ from the camera feeds.

Her survival training kicked in. She had to find cover because most of the aliens were airborne, raining down hell a good storey or two (or a skyscraper) above. She's now left with either finding a way to contact HQ, find a field team, or scatter. She was musing which choice she'd take, when she noticed that a nearby manhole opened. Noticed would be a pretty light word because the lid actually popped out, like a coin being flipped in the air.

"Seriously, _onee-chan_ we should go look for Mr. Rogers." A kid with dark _green_ hair, in an outlandish costume, emerged from the manhole. Followed by a young girl with waist-length red hair, also in a pretty tasteful costume, "_I would much rather we sit in the sidelines_." She was speaking in Japanese. Luckily, Barbara knew the language.

The younger girl grinned, "It's a good thing we're not."

Their conversation was interrupted when screeching emerged from the manhole where they came from. More aliens. _Weren't_ _the civilians evacuated to the subway tunnels?_ She thought. If they had gotten there, then HQ needs to know that. As soon as possible.

Kyoko tsked, and brought out packet of licorice from an unseen pocket on her outfit. "They're coming!" She tore the candy packet, grabbed a handful of the sugary treat, and shoved the packet back into her pockets, then shove the handful of licorice into her mouth.

And the redhead was right. Out from the manhole were at least a couple dozen aliens. They came out so fast that the once empty street were now filled with enemies.

Mockingbird now felt outnumbered _and _ outmatched. Plus she had these two children to worry about. Her mind was already doing at least fifteen scenarios, analyzing ever detail; from the number of enemies, to her environment and the two kids - all while diving for the nearest cover because the aliens summoned their guns and started firing lasers.

Most of them were aimed on the two kids.

She's seen her fair share of tragedies in her life - but the scene before her was not one of them. the redhead _summoned_ (from out of thin air) a tall, simple-looking spear with a red bladed tip and started this agile dance of death around them. To put it simply, it was awesomeness she saw.

Alien limbs flew, sparks flew, and inhumane cries (of what Mockingbird interpreted as pain) echoed the streets, sending shivers to the normal person.

This preteen redhead then broke her spear into parts, extending and bending like that of a snake, chains keeping the spear compartments together and continued her hypnotizing fighting dance. And if that wasn't enough, from the ground emerged red chains that bound and swatted the aliens, an eerie red circle glowing from the floor.

"We seriously don't have the time and energy for this." The redhead said while still chewing on her licorice, talking to her green-haired companion. Her snake-spear was wrapped to the nearest enemy. She then flicked her hands and the bound alien was smashed to a nearby building wall, a small crater appearing as the spear unbound itself from the downed foe.

Mockingbird looked over to the side and saw the young girl also fighting too, albeit with less finesse than the redhead. She was somehow holding - with complete ease - a huge, heavy-looking staff with a cat paw on top. It's ridiculous, because the child simply bashed and smashed the aliens into a pile of junk.

She was so enraptured watching the two children fight, that she barely had enough time to evade an alien's laser shot at her.

Her reflexes kicked in, and the car she was using as a hiding spot was used as a spring for her to do a flip back, her bo staff in her hands again. She then pressed a button on her staff, and one end of her staff turned pointed. Before landing on the ground, as she was flipping, she stabbed the pointed end of her staff on the alien's nape, electricity and metal making a satisfying crunch as her weapon pierced the foe.

When she landed on the ground, the two kids looked were looking at her, the green-haired kid in awe and the redhead in a curiously smug displacement.

* * *

><p>Their names were Yuma and Kyoko. Yuma introduced the two of them, despite Kyoko's protests - in Japanese. Good thing Bobbi knew how to speak Japanese. Though, Kyoko's accent was very... distinct. And it was weird that two Japanese girls, who knew how to fight these monsters, were here in the US, right when there's an alien attack. Right after her communication got fuzzy.<p>

So maybe there's a reason to be worried.

"What're you kids doing here? It's dangerous." She reminded, even though she has her guard up on these two kids.

Kyoko huffed, "Yeah, you're like the fourth person who told us that." If Kyoko wasn't in such a loud costume, she would swear that she looked like the Tasha from... her memories.

Bobbi merely raised a brow. "I'm..." use an alias, just in case, "Roberta."

Somehow, the name felt familiar for the two girls, and they eyed each other instinctively.

Kyoko somehow saw a flash; of legs in a bird cage, and flying birds and marbles in a dark dome. But it quickly passed by her, and she turned back to the blonde.

* * *

><p>ROBERTA Morse:<p>

The [Birdcage Witch], _her nature is rage. She continuously stamps her feet inside her cage, directing her rage at those who do not respond to her. This witch is extremely fond of alcohol, and her minions are also easy to burn_.

Homura paused. Lunch time at school, where she, Madoka and Sayaka spent by the rooftop. Hitomi was with Kyousuke, so whatever. Madoka and Sayaka both talked about an upcoming school event. They were excited. They were looking forward to it. And Homura looked at Madoka with a genuine smile.

_So Kyoko found a _[Witch], Homura thought. Barbara Morse were one of the longest serving [Puella Magi] from another time, in another universe, to a time before Madoka became a _kami_. The foolish girl who wished for friends, similar to Kirika's wish, but unlike the wish made by a shy girl who wanted her savior to notice her, the spirit of Barbara's wish was she'd get noticed by her friends - who all happened to be smart. So she got smarter - and for a moment it earned her friends. Got her into a good school and university too.

Her descent to madness and alcoholism was painful to watch because her struggle to despair happened for as long as two decades. For when she realized that people were only friends with her because of her work, and not for _her_, she started drinking. Drinking, and joining S.H.I.E.L.D. It's not weird at all that most of [Roberta]'s life revolved around the organization. She fought on, and she fought hard, and even though people sometimes whisper that she's an alcoholic, and even if only Nick Fury knew what Barbara really was, she tried her best to help the Avengers from the Chitauri invasion from the shadows. She turned to a [Witch] when Loki Liesmith delivered the cold hard truth to her.

That no one wants her. That she's a selfish person to ever wish such a horrible wish.

And in following the timeline of before, Homura would find Roberta's [Barrier] in Japan because Loki Liesmith knew magic, and had transported the [Witch] halfway across the globe.

[Roberta]'s labyrinth, Homura remembers with vivid clarity.

"I wish for friends. Friends who won't dislike me."

* * *

><p>"How are you able to fight those things?" Bobbi asked, checking to see if any of the fallen enemies might get up.<p>

Kyoko looked uneasy, while Yuma smiled.

"Magic."

* * *

><p>Maria took charge when Nick Fury was away. Good thing for Agent Troy Cotton because Nick Fury, despite Troy's training, intimidated him. And it didn't hurt that he knew Maria on a more personal level - they used to be (while he's younger) teammates, close enough that Maria was okay with dropping titles with him.<p>

"Maria," Agent Cotton said, bringing out his tablet and handing it to her, "Look at this."

The short-haired brunette looked at the screen. Agent 19 was talking to two black blobs. A small black blob and a medium height black blob.

"What's this?"

"Anti-surveilance technology." Which Maria interpreted as his best guess, because his tone simply said 'I don't know.' While most of the hands at S.H.I.E.L.D. were focused on the alien invasion, the organization still kept tabs on other evil organizations and threats against their world. Who knows, maybe they'd use the confusion to further their goals or something.

"Isn't Agent 19 on a vacation?"

He nodded. "She's vacationing in New York. At least she was." He then stepped beside her - close enough that their friendship would permit - and swiped a finger from the left screen to the right of the tablet.

It showed a fight where the medium sized blob was using what appears to be a snake-like spear against the extraterrestrials, the small blob going towards foes that, when the blob move to the next enemy, left them all piles of junk and circuitry.

"Have you communicated with Agent 19 yet?" Maria asked, carefully thinking if this information should be priority or not.

"Yes, until the call got cut."

"Anti-surveilance indeed." Maria said.

"I've tried satellite images, but the ones that haven't been destroyed by the enemy also showed a black blob."

Maria weighed her options before handing the tablet back to Troy. "Observe for now. And try to contact nearby teams to see if they can check in on Agent 19." Perhaps it could be one of the good guys, guys who could be of use to S.H.I.E.L.D. And if they were good guys, their technology could be used for the good.

Agent Cotton nodded.

* * *

><p>Well the magic explanation made some sense, because since there are aliens, and gods like Thor and Loki, then there must be magic. Right? So Barbara trusted them on that a little.<p>

Besides, how may kids who looked like Yuma are able to fight off aliens?

Bobbi had to swallow hard and nod slowly because she had to let it sink first. Magic.

"Okay, so why are you here? I can't imagine you're only here because you're trying to fight off these aliens."

Kyoko and Yuma now looked at her like she grew and extra head, "Aliens? They're aliens?"

"You believe in magic and yet you don't believe in aliens?" Bobbi tightened her ponytail, and double-checking if her shoelaces were tight enough.

"Now that you mention it..." Yuma giggled.

"Now, back to my question," once Mockingbird was content enough with the tightness of her boot's knot, she stood up and stared at the two children. "What are you two doing here?"

Even though Kyoko was older, Yuma was apparently the speaker of the duo, "We're finding our friend."

"Your friend?" Can these two get any more vague?

Their conversation halted again when they saw explosions, lightning and thunder.

And down came a god.


	10. Act 0:6

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **The Rebellion and Avengers (2012) movie

**A/N: **...italicized conversations mean that it's spoken in Japanese. Question: what's stronger the brainwashing thingy that Loki did to Hawkeye or a Witch's Kiss? I'm leaning towards Witch's Kiss since the incubator race has been perfecting their craft for a pretty long time.

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 9<strong>

* * *

><p>In retrospect, of course Nick Fury didn't need to look that far.<p>

"What's the story upstairs?" Yuma grinned and ran for Steve just after a huge man descended from the sky.

"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable." Kyoko warily stepped closer to the group of Steve Rogers. Among his companions, only the tall redhead lady was recognizable. There was the huge man who descended from the sky. His long, silk-like blond hair, in her opinion, didn't fit well with his strong build and metal armor. He held a simple looking hammer, but Kyoko could sense that the hammer was something... _powerful._

The other person was a young man with ashen brown hair. His lean build was accentuated by the tight suit he wore, but his most noticeable feature was how he preferred to use a bow as a weapon.

A bow...

Briefly, Kyoko saw a glimpse of a dark-haired girl. The girl raised an intricate bow made of gold into the sky as cherry blossom petals danced around them. Beside her, a pink-haired girl... and... and...

"Mr. Rogers!" Yuma now stood in front of the shield-carrying man.

"Yuma? Wha-?"

"Captain, communication seems to be down." Natasha touched her earpiece again, to check if it had been a glitch. She was a little bit winded with all the fighting, and she feels like a rib of hers got cracked, but her injuries weren't that severe as compared to that time in Budapest.

The bowman recognized the young woman who accompanied the two children. "Bobbi? What're you doing here?"

Kyoko looked at the the young blonde woman then at the bowman, "'Bobbi'?"

The young blonde woman deflected the inquiry with a wave of her hand, "I never liked the name Roberta." She turned to the brunet, "On a vacation. At least I was before this" she indicated to everything happening around, "happened."

Steve Rogers looked at Kyoko then to Yuma, then to Natasha, Clint and then to Thor.

"Captain?" Natasha asked, "How do we do this?"

Despite worrying over the fact that Kyoko and Yuma were here, Steve Rogers came here on a mission. A mission he was sure he needed to complete. "As a team."

Thor spoke up, "I have unfinished business with Loki." And Kyoko could see that he was wounded, from the blood pumping out from his abdomen. She could clearly see that he was loosing blood, a fatal thing for an ordinary person. Still, he descended from the sky, after raining down lightning, so maybe he was a superhero too. In fact, maybe this team were full of superheroes. Or something.

Mami would've loved to see such a _shonen_-esque team. That was her dream back then. To have a team of hers.

"Yeah?" the bowman, whose name Kyoko would learn as Clint, muttered, "Well, get in line."

Steve Rogers shook his head, "Save it. Loki's gonna keep the fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him, these things could run wild. We got Stark up top. He's gonna need us..."

Kyoko heard the hum of a nearing motorcycle. She turned to the side, and saw a weathered man riding said motorcycle. Apparently he was pretty important because Steve and his team ran towards him.

"So," said the weathered man as he descended from the motorcycle, "this all seems horrible."

Out of the corner of Kyoko's eye, she saw Roberta tense and grab her bo staff upon seeing the man who looked like a gust of wind would break him.

"I've seen worse." replied the redhead lady.

"Sorry."

Natasha, the name that the redhead lady would introduce to Kyoko, shook her head, "No," oddly, a faint glow of a smile graced her face, "we could use a little worse."

"Dr. Banner's here. We now need Stark." Steve Rogers looked at everyone, "Are any of your comms working?"

The bowman checked his, "Nope."

So did Thor, "Mine is not working."

Natasha looked at Roberta, to which the blonde woman would shook her head, "Mine's down as well."

A building breaking in two caught their attention, and Kyoko would recognize the man in red armor. He was being followed by, essentially, a flying whale, in Kyoko's opinion.

Dr. Banner walked towards the direction of the flying whale. "Let me handle this."

"Are you sure?" Steve asked.

The man only nodded in reply before turning into...

"Is that the Hulk?" Yuma asked from beside Steve Rogers. Everyone watched as the Hulk simply jumped high up in the air and punched the flying whale's head.

The whale didn't stand a chance.

When it was down on the ground, the man in red armor descended to the ground. "What happened to the communication line?"

Everyone didn't know. Good thing JARVIS was installed manually on each suit that he owns, because while Tony Stark might not say it out loud, JARVIS does give him an extra boost in the Iron Man's overall capabilities.

"But we still have a mission to finish."

"Well, what do we do now?"

Steve Rogers looked at the hole in the sky. "Until we could close that portal, our priority is containment." Kyoko watched and listened to Steve Roger's plan. And she's gotta give it to the mild-mannered, blender-fearing Steve Rogers because that plan didn't sound bad. In fact, it was a pretty good one.

Give the bowman height to control the flying aliens. The red armored man would focus on containment. The man named Thor would try to do something to the portal and the aliens pouring from it.

"Wait!" Yuma called out to the man.

"What is it, little one?"

"You're wounded." And even if Kyoko expressed her disapprovement telepathically, Yuma did it anyway.

Yuma's hands glowed green, and she hovered it over where the injury of Thor.

"Sorcery?" The Asgardian wondered. In fact, all of them, save Kyoko, watched the miracle that this green-haired child was doing.

Yuma tilted her head, "What's that?"

"Are you a child of magic?"

Realization graced Yuma's face. "Yes, I guess I am." She smiled as she finished patching up his abdominal wound. "There, all better. Mister...?"

And while the setting was bizarre, Thor actually laughed - a good, heartfelt laugh - "Thor. Little one, I am known as Thor." And with that, he leapt forward and actually _flew_ to the portal.

Those that remained were still trying to wrap their minds around the idea that this young girl used magic. Or simply, trying to wrap their minds around the idea that [Magic] even existed.

Good thing Stark had flown carrying Clint earlier, Steve thought, because he wasn't sure how he'd take it.

"Yuma? You-?"

"Sorry about not telling you, Mr. Rogers." Yuma looked at him full of remorse.

Steve looked at Kyoko, "Did you know about this?" He's not mad, actually. Just very, very, _very _surprised. "Are you like her?"

Kyoko merely crossed her arms, and tilted her head. "What's it to you?"

While Kyoko and Steve had a staring match, Natasha watched as the youngest stood in front of her, "You too, ma'am. You're hurt." And before the Black Widow could answer, she was enveloped by the same green glow from earlier. Looking at the floor, she could see a supernatural glowing magical circle filled with designs of carrots, pandas, bears and stars.

She's heard of a division of S.H.I.E.L.D. focused on the arcane and the strange, but she's never actually seen it. Watching this young girl do magic, well, she'll have to report that to the Colonel. And maybe she could finally ask him about the rumored division and not look crazy. And with freaken aliens, crazy might not be crazy after all.

The pain she felt on her chest subsided, even her minor injuries healed too, and she offered a simple 'thank you' as she finished.

"Captain?" She called out to the young man who was still staring at the redhead preteen. "Your orders, sir."

"This conversation isn't over." He told Kyoko. He turned to the Hulk, who looked at the Yuma in bewildered interest, and uttered one word, "Smash."

The green-skinned man grinned and leaped to the air and wreaked destruction to all aliens that stood on his way.

Looking over at Natasha, "We'll keep the fighting here." He then turned to Roberta, "And you, miss? Who're you?"

Natasha spoke up, "She's with S.H.I.E.L.D."

Roberta only smiled. If one were to tell her she'd meet a legend during an alien attack, she'd either tell that person he's either incredible stupid or punch him in the gut for taking the effort of being stupid. Alas, she's here, staring at one Steve Rogers.

"Can you fight, ma'am?"

"I'm not that old." The Mockingbird pouted, "And yes. I can."

"Can I trust you to lead these two," he mentioned to Kyoko and Yuma, "to safety?"

"We're not going anywhere." Yuma told him.

"It's not negotiable. You're civilians." He started, "You're not safe here."

"But... But I... I can fight." She said with a frown.

Steve Rogers knelt in front of her, "You don't have to."

"I want to."

"I don't want you to." He looked at her, "I want you to be safe."

"I can be safe around you." Yuma told him, voice soft.

"Please, Yuma." He looked at her, and Kyoko would see the Steve Rogers she's familiar with.

Kyoko would hear the inhumane screams of the foot soldiers, and by the time the adults would realize it, it would be too late.

Surrounded in all directions, Steve would strategize that they needed to break their formations and pierce through the enemy lines. He and the Black Widow would take the lead while the Mockingbird would watch their backs as the young girls would be ushered roughly between them.

It was all pretty overrated, Kyoko would think, and she'd summon her spear because she doesn't appreciate and doesn't like being thought of by Steve as weak.

"_Are you kidding me_?" And she'll break free from being sandwiched by the three adults. Making a sharp turn when Roberta wasn't looking, she'd leap just like the leap made by the Hulk, and land on the area where the foot soldiers were concentrated the most.

Faintly, she'd hear Steve Rogers scream her name, but she'll already be in the heat of battle. Slashing, stabbing and piercing the aliens with so much ease, the Taskmaster (should he see what Kyoko's capable of) would just weep with joy at seeing someone make fighting look like an art form.

Natasha definitely wasn't expecting the level of mastery Kyoko had over the spear. She also wasn't expecting to see her use magic as well. Well, she was more surprised with the spear more than the magic, but that's only because this kid is so good at fighting. The chains, and similar-looking spears that she summoned from the ground, from building walls, and from thin air added to the overall effect of deadly Kyoko had on the spear. Which, in turn, added to the surprise that Natasha felt.

She would never know, but the Incubator race have imparted [Puella Magi] with fighting prowess not just for fighting [Wraiths], but also to attract the audience. Audiences that, when shown to possess potential, could be recruited for their cause. While the banner 'fight for the good of mankind' have a definite ring to it for a homo sapien, centuries of research and refinement have given them knowledge that their target audience, young girls, are more likely to go into their fold if they are promised a sense of adventure and excitement.

And stylish fighting is always a good way to give that sense of adventure and excitement. Aside from the single miracle the Incubator race could grant with their [Wish], the appeal of being a magical girl also has its roots with fighting extravagantly.

Anyway, there were at least two dozen foot soldiers that had surrounded them earlier, but with Kyoko's superior fighting, they were quickly reduced to single digits. Single digits that the five of them easily dealt with. Twenty seconds. Tops.

When the enemies were downed, and unmoving, Kyoko swished her spear to get rid of all the oil-like liquids her spear's bladed tip accumulated from hacking and slashing alien limbs.

Yuma, who fought with her huge staff earlier, looked at the only male in the group with a grin, "Like I said, Mr. Rogers: we can fight."

Steve Rogers, however, still wouldn't budge. "Yuma." he knelt in one knee and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ears, "Just because you could fight, doesn't mean you should." Seeing Kyoko and Yuma fight, and fight good, somehow made Steve let out a huge sigh of relief. Because that meant that they won't go down that easily.

But children aren't mean to fight wars. They aren't mean to fight. Period. Call it stubborn, foolish or anything else, but that is the moral code that he lived with. If he would lead a team, a team of... superheroes... then he would ensure that what they fought for was for the good of everyone. That they fight for the good.

He figured he'd have trouble convincing Yuma since Kyoko seems to want to fight too, but the young redhead would surprise him.

"Let's go Yuma."

"_Onee-chan_?" Yuma turned to Kyoko, face in disbelief.

"_It isn't safe here_." She told her, _and he wouldn't be able to fight properly if he's worrying over our safety._ She added through their telepathic link.

For a moment, Kyoko and Yuma shared a look. Luckily, Yuma would be the first one to fold, "Okay." She walked towards Steve Rogers and engulfed the young man in a hug, "Just be safe."

The hug caught Steve by surprise, and both the Black Widow and the Mockingbird would actually (inwardly) 'aw' at the cuteness of seeing a legend being hugged by a kid. But they hid it well.

An idea came to Yuma. Just because she couldn't be there with Mr. Rogers doesn't mean she couldn't protect him. She hastily broke free from the hug and smiled at him. "In that case, Mr. Rogers..." And Kyoko would feel a twitch forming on her forehead.

A green hue surrounded Steve Rogers, and he started to feel... _more._ Better. Faster. Stronger.

A power buff. And Kyoko would want nothing more than throttle Yuma. Knowing her, she'd keep the buff up for as long as this... whatever it is Steve was doing here. And that's a very strenuous thing Yuma's doing to her [Soul Gem]. She's stubborn - just like every other healer-support type - so there's no way she'll be able to be talked out keeping the buff up.

Knowing Yuma, she'd be stubborn with keeping the buff up for as long as she could. Hell, Yuma might even use all of her power, without regards to herself, just to keep Steve safe.

Natasha and Roberta watched as Steve's outfit change. His suit was still blue, but it looked more... extravagant. And less bulky-looking. Like it was his second skin. It also doesn't hurt that it isn't unpleasing in the eyes. Oh, and he had a cape. If Stark saw Steve Rogers now, he'll probably comment that he needed a sword to look like a knight.

"There." Yuma smiled and turned around. "Let's go _onee-chan_."

Before they left, however, Kyoko cornered Steve, "Do whatever it is you're doing quickly. Yuma's... suffering trying to keep you powered up."

Steve wasn't able to ask what she meant by that because Kyoko turned around and followed Yuma's lead.

Before they left, Natasha shared a glanced with Barbara "Roberta" Morse. No words were spoken, but they came to an understanding. Something only the two women knew about.

* * *

><p>Elsewhere, while Iron Man was keeping busy a flying whale. The comm line pushed through.<p>

"Stark?" It was Clint's voice.

"The line's on?" He sent an energy beam to a flying foot soldier, sending it crashing to the ground.

"I'm not sure." Clint was busy hitting on flying enemies. "Wait a sec..." he pressed a button from his ear piece that was directly to HQ.

"Agent Barton?"

"Maria?"

"What's going on? Why did the line got cut?"

"We're trying to find out about it too. Did you happen to meet with Agent 19?" If Maria was the one he's talking too, then the Colonel must be doing something even more important. Like politicking with the Council.

"Yes. And I think she's using an alias."

"Is she?" Maria motioned for Cotton, who was still looking at the surveillance that was focus on the Mockingbird. Agent Cotton needed to hear this.

"Yes."

"Tell me, Agent Barton. Who was she with when she came in contact with your team?" It might shed some light on the two blobs that they were seeing in their live feed.

"I'm not entirely sure. But she came with two kids. The captain apparently knows them."

Wait a second. "Did you say kids? And are you saying captain Steve Rogers know them?"

"Yes." Clint answered, "What is this about?"

Maria Hill leaned forward, "Did one of the two kids have green hair?"

Clint raised a brow, curious and interested. Simultaneously, he sent an arrow that pierced a flying foot soldier straight in its forehead. "Yes."

"Agent Barton. What happened to-wait."

Agent Cotton looked over the screen Maria was looking at and saw that the comm lines of both the captain and Agent Romanoff was back on.

"Agent Romanoff." Maria Hill said.

"Yes?"

"Are the two kids still with you?"

"Kids? No, they're with Agent 19."

"And Agent 19?"

"The captain sent her to take the two kids to safety."

Maria Hill had to groan. Still, she could still get some information regarding the two children. "Tell me all that you know about them."


	11. Act 0:7

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **The Rebellion and Avengers (2012) movie

**A/N: **...italicized conversations mean that it's spoken in Japanese. I searched what Yuma's soul gem looks like transformed, and personally it looks like a jigglypuff.

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 10<strong>

* * *

><p>"You've seen the universe been reborn at least three times, haven't you<em>?<em>" In a plane of reality that wasn't really a plane of reality, in an area that wasn't really an area, the [Demon] looked at [The Hero That Could Be You]. One moment, Homura was waiting for Madoka in a cafe, the next is she's talking to the waitress that isn't the waitress. Well, technically it is still the waitress but her psyche's been overridden by an 'echo' of one Captain Universe.

The waitress, who isn't really a waitress, smiled, "Maybe."

Their faces might be impassive, their stances cool and composed, but Homura sensed the unease of Ibari, Mie and Ganko, and Homura saw Noroma, Yakimochi and Nekura ready their push pin spears. A few Luiselottes even stopped from their patrol to watch the stalemate.

Captain Universe, in turn, made all the living beings around Homura to stop whatever they were doing. Slowly, oh-so eerily, their faces turned and met Homura's impassive face.

"I take it that this isn't a social call?" Homura ran a finger at the lips of her coffee mug.

"Someone wishes to have an audience with you." The fact that a cosmic being was used as a messenger meant that they were either trying to _really_ intimidate the new-born cosmic entity known as Homura Akemi, or, someone so powerful that should the being physically manifestation in _her_ - Homura's - plane of reality could mean the annihilation of that reality.

This being couldn't be Eternity. If it was Eternity, he would've been less tactful as to use a messenger. Like the first time he made himself known.

It could also be a trap of some sort. There were beings whose power could rival or eclipse even Madoka herself, and they somehow all wanted to grab hold of her best friend and take her potential.

Actually, with the Incubator race at her disposal, she rerouted the race's efforts of stopping [Entropy] to containing (or, at least, trying to), and safeguarding the _multi_verse from threats like Shuma Gorath and Chthon. Her Luiselottes actually started to giggle whenever an exhausted and mind-fvcked Incubator would show up and report on the new multiversal crisis they stopped. Which, in turn, earned Homura the respect of the Living Tribunal. In fact, the [Demon] was now sort of working with (or for) the powerful being.

However, the [Demon] was aware that the [Guardian of Eternity] fought for the good, so that's got to mean something. Right? Even if Homura was now bordering in neutrality when it came to alignment.

Neutrality because her partnership with the Living Tribunal was only so the Living Tribunal wouldn't think of undoing what she did to Madoka - or to 'Godoka', to be precise.

Homura made that decision to meet the challenge head-on. Summoning Liese Matrona, the biggest Liese in her stable, Homura then formed her wooden chair on the bird's back and sat on it. "Lead the way then, oh great Uni-Power."

Before she left, she sent a text message to Madoka that something came up and she might not be able to meet her today.

* * *

><p>"JARVIS," Iron Man might be busy keeping the air clean from space aliens but the thought that someone possesses way more advanced technology - or is it? - that could override <em>his<em> company's technological prowess bothered him, "Any leads as to how the communication line got cut?"

"I can only guess one thing, sir."

"Oh yeah?" He sent an energy beam to a flying footsoldier that tried to enter a subway tunnel.

"I have been snooping around," by that, JARVIS usually meant he hacked his way through every known government and evil organization database, "and I was fortunate enough to stumble upon this." A panel popped up from his screen and saw the blonde woman from earlier running with two black circles beside her.

"...and this is?" Iron Man was currently being chased by another flying whale.

"Live footage. Communication lines one hundred feet away from them seems to become noise." Another image popped up from his screen, this time a satellite image from the same view. "As you can see, even the satellite images we use for corporate espionage still can't override the image blocking thingy-"

"Watching those Buffy episodes I told you to watch?"

"Yes sir." came the dry reply of JARVIS.

* * *

><p>Homura sat in his wooden chair as Liese Matrona flapped her wings. The bird was following the ethereal figure of Captain Universe. It didn't take long actually. Or rather, it took an eternity. It didn't actually happened. Or it did. But one moment they were flying in a spatial reality that wasn't natural or hers, and then Homura realized that she was outside of the cafe now.<p>

Liese Matrona shrunk her size, smaller than the nail of Homura's thumb. She then flew to one of Homura's pockets and snuggled herself in the warm, dark area.

The [Demon] looked around and saw that they were in a cafe that wasn't the cafe from earlier. Then, like a [Witch] changing the environment to suit her mentalscape, it turned into a park. An empty park on a warm weekend afternoon. She was standing in a wooden bridge, quite like the same bridge that she, Madoka and Sayaka passes every morning to school, and the small river beneath the bridge had the cleanest and bluest river she's ever seen. The trees never looked so vibrant before too. It felt... safe, and had a nice ambiance to it, but Homura has been in her fair share of [Witch's Barriers].

"It's finally good to meet you, Homura Akemi." It was a man's voice. Sounded awfully like..

"_Kaname-san!_ What're you?"

Tomohisa Kaname waved a hand, "I'm not actually the human named Tomohisa Kaname."

Homura tilted her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw three of her Clara Dolls - Okubyou, Manuke and Higami - feeding the ducks with bread by the river. The others, however, were playing on the grass all around. She watched as Namake, the Clara Doll of [Neglect], near the man. The brunet man simply smiled and patted the doll's head before looking at Homura.

"Who're you, exactly?" This man, who wore her best friend's father's face, felt strong. A power that dwarfed anything she's ever seen. Stronger even than the presence she felt around the Living Tribunal.

"That doesn't really matter." 'Tomohisa' smiled. "But if you want to see me..." And Homura saw the _everything_ in his eyes. A sense of vertigo, a pinch of demetia, a taste of power and a teaspoon of benevolence was what she felt. And an overwhelming sense of intense, mind-boggling _force._

"I suspect you would rather see me in Tomohisa Kaname's form, yes?" And this... [-indescribable-] changed into Tomohisa Kaname.

"Why him?" Tomohisa Kaname and Akemi Homura rarely crossed paths. In fact, among the Kaname family, he was the one who interacted with her the least. In all of her timeline resets and the time before she dethroned the [Law of Cycles], she's never spoken more than five words to him. In fact it was only now, right after her rewriting the universe, did she ever have conversations with the man.

"You will have a more... intense reaction should I use the form of one Junko or Tatsuya Kaname." 'Will have'? Homura noted how he said 'will have' instead of 'would have'.

'Tomohisa' plopped back into a bench that wasn't there earlier. Completely imitating how Madoka's father would sit. 'He' looked at her, "I do believe we have something to talk about."

"What is this about?" Homura too summoned her wooden chair. It was plain, rickety-looking and weathered, but she liked it. She sat in front of 'Tomohisa' and honestly, it felt like she was in a job interview.

* * *

><p>"Are we going back to the subway tunnels again, Roberta?" Yuma asked as she used her staff to send the ground shaking. Five footsoldiers shook at the controlled earthquake, and Kyoko used that moment of distraction to turn them to minced meat.<p>

Roberta herself had stabbed an enemy alien on it's stomach before looking at the kid, "We are."

"Why?" Yuma whined, using her huge weapon to smack a nearing enemy.

Roberta grunted as she flipped back to avoid lasers being sent to her direction, "Because it's safe there." Kyoko then jumped to the foes who were using guns and diced them too.

The skirmishes were quick, usually not lasting more than a few minutes.

Kyoko swished her spear, letting the oil-like liquids from the aliens paint the pavement. The redhead then walked to Yuma and checked her [Gem].

She bit back a curse when she saw it was turning murkier by the minute. "You have to purify your [Soul Gem]. Now."

Yuma actually rolled her eyes, "_Fine_..." Yuma then reached for her pockets and brought out a few [Grief Cubes]. She then plucked her [Gem] from it's place. Meanwhile, Kyoko surveyed the area for a place where Yuma could do the purifaction. She settled for a nearby McDonalds.

"Let's go in there." She told the two females.

"Hey," Roberta placed a hand over her hip, "I'm running things around here. You do everything _I_ say."

Kyoko let her spear vanish. "We do everything you say and you'll be left with no one to protect."

"What was that?"

Kyoko crossed her arms and huffed, "Whatever. Yuma, let's go." And Yuma walked to the deserted McDonalds. The green-haired child looked at the retreating figure of Kyoko then to Roberta. She didn't think twice; she ran after Kyoko.

Groaning, the Mockingbird followed Kyoko's lead.

* * *

><p>"What're you doing?" Roberta watched as Yuma placed this Jigglypuff-like green object on the cashier counter.<p>

"Purifying my [Soul Gem]!" The kid told her, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Beside Yuma, Kyoko had raided three cheeseburgers from the food rack, and had even poured a tall glass of coke for the herself and Yuma. The three were huddled together, Kyoko silently watching Yuma place her [Grief Cubes] strategically around her [Soul Gem] and Roberta watching with undisguised interest.

When the formation was done, Roberta noted that Yuma set these black cubes around a Jigglypuff-like thing in a heart-shaped formation, grotesque-looking black squiggly lines formed from the black cubes and towards the Jigglypuff object. Roberta actually thought it was a bad thing but the Jigglypuff object looked more lustrous than before, glimmery too. It was a slow process, and the three of them actually ate free McDonalds food, while they waited. Yuma had to do it three times because the black cubes turned grey and no longer seemed to absorb the murkiness of the [Soul Gem].

A few running people passed them by, but they ignored the three females because of the carnage happening around them.

Roberta even saw Kyoko rob the cashiers of their money. She was about to say something about it when Yuma shouted 'it's done' to the two of them. Roberta was only distracted for a moment, she only looked at the younger child for just a second, but when she turned back to Kyoko, Kyoko was already leaving the area.

* * *

><p>Steve Rogers has never felt anything like this before. He fought with so much ease, so much finesse, it was startling. His movements felt well-oiled and composed too, and his punches and blows were stronger than ever.<p>

He saw his reflection earlier when they passed a boutique shop that hasn't got it's windows smashed. He saw what he looked like; his suit turned like... a blue-themed Robin Hood costume. With a billowy turquoise-colored cape. The cape in his opinion felt a little too much for him. His clothes might've been turned less constraining, but on the few laser beams that was sent to his direction that wasn't deflected by his shield, it didn't hurt as much as compared to earlier. His ducks, rolls and somersaults didn't tire him as much as well.

So this is what magic feels like?

He still couldn't believe that Kyoko and Yuma could use magic. And fight. Actually, it didn't bother him that much that they could both use magic - Yuma and he actually had a cartoon marathon that featured this genre called 'Magical Girls'. It was a week's worth of watching shows like 'Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha', 'Card Captor Sakura', and, according to Yuma, a cult classic named 'Sailor Moon' over at Netflix and Youtube. He actually liked the one about Nanoha due to their cool fighting scenes, even if their clothes (on all of the shows that they watched) should be less revealing to him. From the era he was from, you would've been called a lot of bad things if one were to dress so scantily those Sailor Soldiers.

Though he has to admit that while the notion of fighting for 'love, friendship and justice' using beams of pink light was a little out of there, it did soften the bomb that the two children gave to everyone.

The thing that bothered him more, however, and what's more pressing, was the fact that the two could fight. And fight good. How could someone let children learn how to fight? Watching about children fighting using love and friendship might have it's appeal, but it shouldn't be like that in real life.

"Captain?"

Steve Rogers jumped down to see if Natasha was alright, seeing as she just single-handedly defeated a dozen footsoldiers by herself.

"This fighting isn't going to mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal."

"Do you think guns could touch it?" Steve would be the first to admit that the technology advancement of today was a little out of his league. Not a little. A lot. Anyway, back then, if you don't know how to turn something off, you just blow it up.

Now? He isn't so sure.

"I'm thinking it's not about guns." Steve looked at the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, her eyes fixed not on the portal in the sky but on the beam that seems to keep the portal open.

"You wanna get up there, you're gonna need a ride." If Loki hadn't destroyed their jet.

Steve looked at Natasha as she looked at the flying foot soldiers. "I got a ride."

No way.

"I could use a boost though."

Steve looked like her like she was crazy. "Are you sure about this?"

Natasha actually joked, "Yeah. It's gonna be fun."

She walked a few feet away from Steve, and when she was far enough, ran back to him. She then stepped on his shield and with his new-found strength, propelled her at least ten feet in the air.

A flying enemy was nearby and Natasha landed right behind the pilot.

* * *

><p>The swarm of enemies was getting out of hand. Sure the three of them, thanks to Kyoko's superior fighting abilities, could fight a mob of a couple dozen of enemies at a time, but the farther they tried to go away from the source, the more enemies they seem to encounter.<p>

Roberta theorized that the most of the enemies weren't in the skies or in the surface, where the Avengers team fought them. Quite possibly, a lot of them were in the subway tunnels, using the tunnels as means of travel. Roberta could only hope that most of the civilians were already evacuated there.

Currently, their path has been made difficult by a sea of footsoldiers walking in formation to them. Roberta and Kyoko both agreed that the best plan was to run away from them. But running away from them meant going back to the hole in the sky because somehow, they were in a street that had no resisting force from the enemies.

Roberta looked ahead, nearing as the got closer and closer to Stark Tower.

* * *

><p>Maria Hill couldn't believe what she was hearing. The Council wanted to nuke New York City.<p>

That was one of the most dumbest thing she's ever heard today. And today was a weird day, with aliens and gods and all.

The colonel was arguing with the Council that no, a nuke is a bad idea, and yes, it could be used when their team couldn't contain the threat. But no, that option should be only be considered when it's actually hopeless. And, no, doing it in a very populous area is severely stupid.

Agent Cotton and Maria Hill could only sigh in relief when Nick Fury killed the call.

* * *

><p>'Tomohisa Kaname' looked at Akemi Homura.<p>

Their conversation might have lasted for a second. It might have also lasted for a lifetime. One can never tell.

"Tell me, Homura Akemi." His relaxing vibe was slowly dissipating, leaving behind an overpowering sense of infinitesimal power, and truthfully, it made Homura tear a little in its majesty and fear a little due to making her feel so minutely small.

"What do you know of the [Infinity Gems]?"


	12. Act 1: It is a Burden I Desire to Bear

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **The Rebellion and Avengers (2012) movie

**A/N: **...italicized conversations mean that it's spoken in Japanese. Yes, I plan on doing a revamped version of the infinity gauntlet arc. Also, another headcanon of this fic, is Mami teaming up with the Punisher. So anticipate on that.

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 11<strong>

* * *

><p>"Why me?"<p>

'Tomohisa Kaname' leaned forward, resting his elbows on a table that wasn't there before and resting his chin on his intertwined fingers, "Because you, Akemi Homura, are capable of wielding my greatest creation." He smiled, "Love."

They were still in the park, watching Homura's Clara Dolls play in the park. The [-indescribable-] poured Homura a cup of tea, also summoned from thin air.

"Why can't he do it?" Homura signalled to the ethereal figure that is Captain Universe. "Or maybe even the Living Tribunal, he's obviously better at handling such a... problem?"

"Oh, they can do it." 'Tomohisa Kaname' said, sipping from his cup, "But I know _you_, Homura Akemi. I have watched you. I have seen all of you. All versions of you. In all the universes that you and your friend have rewritten."

Homura tensed, but 'Tomohisa' wave a hand dismissively, "I don't hold it against you. All water under the bridge. And I can understand you from your point of view."

Noroma, ever the [Guillible], actually thought that a nearby squirrel was the [Rat], thankfully Mie corrected her before she could harm the poor thing. "You were human too. And you know how to _feel_. The Living Tribunal doesn't and has never felt despair, joy and sadness. All capable Cosmic Beings, in fact, have never, and probably will never, be able to feel my greatest creation. Not in a way someone like an imperfect being as a human might feel. Something you once were before all that's happened. Besides, I know that this will concern you one way or another because it's related to your best friend." Out of the corner of their eyes, they saw the Clara Doll Mie climb a tree. "Or, rather, an aspect of one Madoka Kaname."

Homura, in all her newly accumulated powers, tried to see ahead. To the future, for she is [Time] personified because Eternity gave her that blessing. And she saw nothing. Or rather, it was unclear even to _her_. A being who could and would see all the outcomes of every timeline. Of every anomaly. Of every deviations.

"What do I need to do?" Who was she to decline a request made by someone roughly referred to as, with benevolence for he is something as benevolence personified, [One-Above-All]. She might have dethroned the [Goddess], but the [-indescribable-] is someone who is, _always_, one above all.

'Tomohisa Kaname' smiled, though the smile was fatherly - just like the real Tomohisa Kaname. "Simple: I just need you to be there for Madoka. Protect her just as you always have. And, be careful."

Homura sighed. She could do that plan. Even though the [-indescribable-] was being awfully vague with the details. Actually, she gave up trying to coax and poke more details from him a milennia ago. Or a minute ago. Time wasn't linear here.

The [Demon] had to ask again, however, "Are you telling me that there is a _new_ [Infinity Gem]?"

'Tomohisa' sighed. "Long, long ago. Before you have rewritten this universe, to a time older than Galactus, the [World Eater], himself. There was a... let's settle with, a child. And a lonely child, she was. For his [Creator] was busy trying to construct his _greatest_ masterpiece. In his/her sadness, he split herself into six. And these six would become siblings. Six siblings of the original known as [Nemesis]. For a moment, the [Creator] wondered why everything got lively all of a sudden, and he saw the One-turned-to-Six, and he became happy for them."

Homura tilted her head, "And these Six became known as the [Infinity Gems]?"

'Tomohisa' chuckled, "Impatient are you?" He nodded, still smiling, "Well, eventually, they became [Infinity Gems]. And these [Infinity Gems] contain unimaginable power. In fact, should the Incubator race get a hold of one, they would create three timelines:

Timeline A would be the timeline where they use the power to stop [Entropy].

Timeline B would be them trying to finding out, trying to understand, and finally trying to control Cosmic Beings. And,

Timeline C is when they get greedy and try collecting all of them."

'Tomohisa' smiled, "Now that they are under your... bidding, I no longer have to worry about all three timelines spiraling out of control thanks to you. Which I am thankful for, much as I love all of my creations. The Incubator race included - no matter how disappointed I am with how they ended up, with them exploiting" Homura felt that the [-indescribable-] would rather use the term 'bullying', "much weaker, underdeveloped races."

"Anyway, when your friend Madoka made her [Wish], unknowingly, perhaps maybe to me as well," Homura doubted that the [-indescribable-] didn't know, "her [Soul Gem], thanks to all the burden she has gathered in the multiverse, was eventually tempered into a distant cousin of the [Infinity Gems] due to all the karmic destiny she accumulated from her fellow [Puella Magi]. Whether they be human or not."

Homura Akemi ran a finger around her teacup's lips, "The [Soul Gem] is basically the soul of a [Puella Magi]." And in conjunction to the [-indescribable-]'s story from earlier, "A Cosmic Being's [Soul Gem] might as well be an [Infinity Gem]. Is that what you're saying?"

"In a way, yes."

"Are you saying, then, that all [Soul Gems] are miniature versions of [Infinity Gems]?"

"They are similar in design, so yes. Just like how a [Grief Cube] is a severely watered-down version of a [Cosmic Cube]. The Incubator race stumbled upon the designs eons ago. In civilizations they had exploited. Though, more than anything, Madoka's [Gem] is more related to something like the [Tesseract] or the [Aether] in terms of power but more closer to an [Infinity Gem] because her [Infinity Gem] embodies a new aspect of the multiverse: Hope."

Basically, with the multiverse being rewritten by Madoka, the aspect of [Hope] in all it's metaphysical (inhumane, humane or extraterrestrial) interpretation was legitimized as a _need_ for a universe to be considered a universe.

Homura brought out her own [Soul Gem]. Shaped like the chess set's queen, she placed it on the table. "I... Am I the same as Madoka's?"

'Tomohisa' leaned forward, eyes looking at the purple object, "Not the same. You bonded yourself with her."

Her looked of confusion made him chuckle again. "Madoka is... shall we say, the patron god of you [Puella Magi]. That was how she edited the universe. You might have rewritten the universe as well, but the [Law] that Madoka created is still in effect. Why do you think you've only been able to seal most of the [Puella Magi]s powers? It's not because you're weak, but because Madoka's [Law], or more precisely, her [Law of Cycles] is still in effect. Basically, what you are, is like a herald to her. Think of it this way, if [Puella Magi] were angels, you would be classed as a seraphim. Or cherubim. That means, your [Soul Gem] is the closest thing to an [Infinity Gem]. Much closer than one [Anomaly] known as Kazumi, one Kyoko Sakura, and even the [Puella Magi] witch form of one known as Walpurgisnacht."

Noroma this time jumped to the river for a swim, "So what does these [Infinity Gems] have to do with what you're warning me about?"

'Tomohisa' sighed, "Before they were called [Infinity Gems], they were known as [Soul Gems]."

Homura didn't have a proper reaction because 'Tomohisa' dropped another bombshell, "Currently, someone has been accumulating their power. Or rather, someone is trying to collect them all. Full roster. And because of it, it's somehow becoming harder and harder to see ahead for me." The afternoon sun was starting to set, changing the blue skies into a nice orange and pink. "This person, whoever he is, has not only bested three Elders, he has even started to mask himself from _me_." That _is_ unnerving.

Homura tilted her head, "And where do I come in, in all this?"

'Tomohisa' looked at her, "Just be sure that this person, whoever he is, doesn't know that there's an _eighth_ [Infinity Gem]. And that you protect Madoka and her [Gem] should he find out about it. Only you, me, and Captain Universe know of a new [Infinity Gem] so keep this secret close to your heart. The other Elders who hold an [Infinity Gem] have also been warned but they know nothing about the topic of this conversation."

So, basically, Homura was being warned of a looming, unseen threat. And was being warned to always be prepared. All in secrecy. "I will do my best."

'Tomohisa' smiled. "Good girl."

* * *

><p>Kyoko Sakura watched as the number of footsoldiers reached an all-time high. There was literally a sea of footsoldiers pursuing them.<p>

"This isn't good." Even she, Kyoko, had to stop by and purify her [Gem] because of using too much energy.

The Mockingbird looked at the redhead like she grew an extra head, "You think?"

Currently, they were just a block away from Stark Tower. The group was being pushed back here, since the group of aliens were getting larger and larger as time went on. Kyoko and Yuma, could jump from building to building with ease, but they were using their energy reserves to a minimum and power-induced jumps were an expensive activity for a [Puella Magi]. And they can't just leave Roberta by herself. So they resorted to running.

"Quickly, we're almost there!" Yuma shouted, using her staff to send another controlled earthquake to the assembled enemies. The aliens quickly got the idea that using laser beams would grant an instant death by chain torture - care of Kyoko. No matter how large a group they might try in pursuing them, lasers fired would mean getting pulled apart by summoned reddish chains. So the group pursuing Kyoko rarely used their laser beams now.

They were running as fast as they could, but the three quickly realized that a group of enemies were also stationed near Stark Tower.

The Mockingbird would realize that of course there would be enemies stationed there, that's where the portal was coming from. They have to secure the area from enemies trying to close door from the invaders.

In short, that could mean they trapped in a pincer attack from the start.

To make matters worse, two flying whales seemed to have sniffed them and were dangerously hovering above them, their mouth opening as if wanting to swallow them whole.

Out of desperation, Kyoko pulled untied her pony tail. "_This is seriously getting annoying_." Her red hair fell down, reaching right below her hips. This was the first time, aside from bath time, that Yuma has seen Kyoko with her hair down.

The earth started to rumble, but this wasn't made by Yuma's staff.

* * *

><p>The Black Widow, riding the back of a footsoldier who was riding a flying vehicle, could see something emerging from the ground of Stark Tower. Like a snake unburrowing itself from the ground, a huge spear - similar to Kyoko's spear - burst out from the cemented floors. With a height almost half the size of Stark Tower, it uncoiled itself, breaking into compartments connected by huge red chains inside, then with snake-like grace, the huge serpent spear started to wrap itself around the building walls of Stark Tower, ascending upwards. Towards the beam of light that kept the portal open.<p>

* * *

><p>"<em>Onee-chan<em>!" Yuma has heard tales from other [Puella Magi], rare their appearances might be, before they got transported to here, about the respect they had over Kyoko or Mami. In Japan, it wasn't asking "Do you know Tomoe Mami?" or "Do you know Kyoko Sakura?" the question is, "How do you _not_ know of Tomoe Mami and Kyoko Sakura?"

When you're a seasoned [Puella Magi], when you move to another town and the town has a pretty civil resident protector, one cannot help but exchange stories. And one way or another, you will end up talking about the best of the best in their field of occupation.

For example, In Norway, there was [Anna of the Epee]. The girl who could fell two dozen [Wraiths] because of her lightning fast prowess in fencing. All in under thirty seconds. Quick, agile and merciless, Anna managed to protect Oslo, and protect the capital good, for three years _just by herself_. Before teaming up with two other girls. Those who managed to see her fight would only see lightning flash by before nearby [Wraiths] would turn to [Grief Cubes].

In Kosovo, Adelina was known for her prowess in team leading. Capable of uniting even the most temperamental of girls, she has been dubbed as [Adelina the Leader] when in came to handling the once unmanageable population of [Wraiths] and the mismanagement of the magical girl population prevalent in her country. And if that wasn't enough, Adelina was deadly with her halberd and shockwave magic in the rare cases that she'd be solo.

In Japan, three girls dominated the best of the best. The [Introverted Archer] known as Homura Akemi, the girl who could work well with others despite being reserved and socially awkward. With her bow, and aim that never faltered, and how time seemed to slow down or stop when she's around, Homura was only a stone throw away from the _best_ marksman among the [Puella Magi]: Mami Tomoe. Mami Tomoe, one of the only few [Puella Magi] who lasted for an ungodly amount of time as a solo. Therefore growing at an inconceivable amount in terms of skill and strategy. She works well too, teaming with other people but as a solo, she is one of the deadliest girls ever known to them. She is the best because she doesn't specialize in anything. A _Johannes Factotum_ made flesh and given deadly muskets.

The last one was Kyoko Sakura. The girl who dominated the [Puella Magi] world with guerrilla warfare tactics in fighting [Wraiths]. Her spear that blazed like fire, with speed only comparable to Anna, and chains that seemed to have a mind of their own, she was one of the three best spear-wielders of their social and occupational sphere.

Yuma knew that Kyoko Sakura was a minimalist even before they arrived here. She preferred to use as little energy as possible, but she still manages to control the [Wraith] population like a girl liberally using her powers to maximum effect in her city, Kazamino.

There was actually a rumor about her; that Kyoko used to use more magic. Illusion magic, as it was. Back then, Kyoko was referred to as the [Illusion Weaver], but something must have happened and she stopped using that type of magic. Any magic, basically, unless she needed too. Yuma's always wanted to ask, but she - Yuma - would like to think that she was mature enough to know that that topic was something Kyoko wanted to keep to herself.

One time, according to rumors, she even went all out with Mami - her once mentor back then. The power they used that day, according to these rumors, was even felt all throughout the country.

The feat she was seeing was something even _better_ than Mami's [Tiro Finale], though if she'd tell Kyoko that, Kyoko would tell her that Mami's ultimate version of her finisher was something Yuma will probably never see. And that was a good thing, according to Kyoko.

Still, until that day would happen, going into crazy twirls around Stark Tower atop a spearhead is definitely cooler than an ordinary [Tiro Finale].

* * *

><p>Ian McNee, cloaked by an invisibility spell, moved through all the carnage and destruction. The magical community was to sit this invasion out, at least according to Dr. Strange. The attack was made by a race that was more on the technological extraterrestrials rather than the mystical variant of the extraterrestrials. As such, no matter how much a few of the magical community wanted to vehemently disagree, they were to not meddle with the affair.<p>

With that said, most of the magic users all over the city have already evacuated, whether they be through teleportation or normal means. Those who were not as powerful, who couldn't cast a teleportation spell, and those who were stuck, were quickly helped by the current Sorcerer Supreme.

Dr. Strange had advised Ian, out of civility and courtesy, that he too should evacuate. But Ian had read from the First Tarot that this [Kyoko/Ophelia] would be here. He didn't tell Stephen Strange that, opting to tell Stephen that his own safety would just mean activating a strong ward that would (hopefully) repel the aliens. Dr. Strange still thought it was a bad idea, but Ian McNee stayed rooted on the spot.

When Dr. Strange has gone away, Ian tried to make his magical senses as sensitive as possible. He then quickly sensed... magic - a very peculiar brand of magic - being used among the chaos. Grabbing his coat, placing an invisibility and a mild invinciblity spell, Ian was out of his shop the moment the spike of power reached to unimaginable heights.

Fast-forwad to now, he was staring with wide eyes as the snake-like spear construct wrapping and slithering itself around Stark Tower.

For someone who's seen magic for more than a decade, this would've been nothing. If not for the fact that this construct, from what he could see, were powered only by [Personal Energies]. And that was unimaginable because the size of the thing, and thus, the magic the caster was expending just to keep it corporal, is unbelievably huge.

In the schools of magic, there are three types of energies that could be used to power up the arcane arts; [Personal Energies], [Universal Energies] and [Dimensional Energies]. The first one would use the power that was inside the caster. And seeing how huge the mage's construct is, then it must be a _lot_. And if this was [Kyoko/Ophelia], then this girl was already a gifted magic practitioner even though she's never had any formal magical tutelage.

And that's frightening.

Forget the fact that Stephen should know that a person of the magical community was participating in repelling the invasion (because he just saw the huge spear pierce a flying whale), he has to get nearer.

He needs to see the caster for himself.

* * *

><p>Maria Hill and Agent Cotton were busily checking the records of the snitch that was not following the orders of the Colonel. Actually, Maria was delegated that role since Agent Cotton was putting Colonel Nick Fury up to speed regarding the situation of Agent 19.<p>

The Colonel had very recently stopped one of the jet planes trying to nuke New York City. He was still upset that one of his men weren't really following his orders. Actually, because of the moles in S.H.I.L.E.D., the people around them were more on edge than before.

That's usually what happens when you find out that one of your trusted comrades were not really your allies. You have to work around with the destroyed trust going around.

"I need the main team informed that a rogue nuke missile is on its way to the city."

* * *

><p>The Black Widow tried to assist the wobbly figure of the now-lucid Dr. Erik Selvig. The gigantic spear of Kyoko twirled around the building, moving upwards as the spear tried to flee from the amount of footsoldiers by the base of the tower.<p>

If it's not any weirder, the spearhead was even capable of shooting red beams of destruction. And the Black Widow was quite acquainted with the very crisp, very dead, very not-so-flying-anymore whale near the building.

"I need to close to portal!" she shouted to the doctor seeing as the building being destroyed generated enough noise to mute any other sound.

She was then told that the good doctor had installed a fail-safe on the device he built. But they'd need Loki's scepter.

Which was...

* * *

><p>"Finally." Kyoko hissed in irritation as they reached atop the tower. Quite an expensive action she'd done, summoning [Jormungand]. Actually, it's just an over grown spear that shoots beams of red light. No need to name the spear from Norse Mythology. Why Kyoko named the spear? Mami happened, that's why.<p>

Actually, in all the years Kyoko's existed as a magical girl, this was the third time she's summoned her. Yes, apparently, according to Mami her [Jormungand] is a girl.

With the head of the spear level with the top floor of the tower, save of course the rooftop, Kyoko descended to the granite flooring of the building by jumping down with all the grace of a magical girl. Yuma and Roberta did the same, and when they were both safe, Kyoko willed her spear to dissipate.

_So this is what it's like having lots of money_. She thought as she observed the overview of an impressive New York City. Granted, it is a ruined New York City, but it was still pretty breathtaking.

_It feeds the ego too_._ Maybe this is why Tony Stark is so pompous_.

The again, if she had all the money in the world, she'd probably spend it all trying out all the delicious food out there.

"_Onee-chan!_" Yuma called out to her. "Your [Gem] needs purifying again." And she was right. The [Gem] of hers was looking dangerously darker. Kyoko bit down another curse as she pulled out more of her [Grief Cubes] from a pocket of hers. She also pulled out a bar of Hershey's milk chocolate from another pocket.

"Check yours too. Yuma." She adviced as she brought out her [Gem] and searched for a secluded area where she could purify her [Gem]. [Puella Magi] could purify their [Gem] even when suited up, but it was on a much slower rate as when they weren't. Of course, Kyoko should just depower herself again just so she'd be able to cleanse her gem at a faster rate, but freaken aliens were hovering all over the place, so that option was pretty out.

The younger girl nodded, and followed her.

"-ack!"

Behind Kyoko, she heard Yuma trip. Roberta was looking a little more shell-shocked - actually, she's been looking so shell-shocked the moment her spearhead fired those red beams at the flying whale earlier.

"What is this?" Yuma grabbed what appears to be a spear-like object with a glowing blue sphere located at the precipice of the blade.

"Hey kid!" Both eyes looked up and saw the redhead that was Steve Roger's teammate. "I need that scepter."

Yuma tilted her head, "What's a scepter?" She looked at the object in her hands, "This?" She then threw it up into the air, earning the paling face of the redhead. Luckily, the redhead grabbed the object before it could descend down. "Thanks."

The windows breaking earned the attention of the two young girls.

Inside the room, a young man with fair features was sprawled on the floor. He wore an ensemble of black and green robes. And he wore a very intricate helmet. Plus he was unconscious.

Roberta immediately recognized him. "Get away from him!" And for the first time, Kyoko felt Roberta grab a hold of her and Yuma. "He's dangerous!"

What's more dangerous was when a green-skin man also entered the room. Also through the window.


	13. Act 1:2

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **The Rebellion and Avengers (2012) movie

**A/N: **...italicized conversations mean that it's spoken in Japanese. With the Avengers Movie coming to a close, no moving on to the Winter Soldier movie. Also, with that, the simmering, really slow, my version of the infinity gauntlet arc.

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 12<strong>

* * *

><p>"A god you say?" Kyoko asked. The young man in green and black robes had risen and exclaimed to everyone in the room about his superiority earlier. The Hulk wasn't that phased with what he was saying because he used the man as a club, brandishing his body like that of a dog's chew toy.<p>

The ordinary human would've died at such a phenomena being done to their weak bodies, but this man was obviously different. "If you were as such, then you would have never been defeated by the creature you called as 'foul'."

The young man, who was buried on the marble floor could only groan in reply, obviously in pain but obviously alive as well. His eyes never really met hers, so Kyoko isn't sure if he could hear her.

The Hulk had then broken another window to leave the room, leaving a dazed Roberta, Yuma and Kyoko.

Looking into his eyes, very cerulean eyes. Inhumane in intensity was this man's eyes that Kyoko vaguely remembered purple eyes. And nutcrackers. And a mermaid who... tried...

A mermaid who tried...

"Damnit." Kyoko could swear that she could remember that mermaid. But if she thought harder, it seemed to slip further away from her grasp.

There was a loud boom in the sky, one that rocked the floors. But Kyoko knew well enough that the building would hold and not collapse. And even if it would fall, her magical chains plus her reflexes would be able to save not just herself but Yuma as well as Roberta.

"_Onee-chan!_" Yuma's eyes were looking out the window, a finger pointed to a falling red figure.

Kyoko also noticed that the flying enemies simply just... stopped and dropped to the ground.

Is it over?

* * *

><p>"Steve!" Yuma dropped beside one Steve Rogers.<p>

Earlier, Yuma had actually jumped down from the top floor because she could feel Steve Rogers was near. Roberta had actually screamed out to the kid, but Kyoko pushed her too, making her scream out more.

"Big baby..." Kyoko whispered as she too followed their lead.

Not to worry, Kyoko tried to cushion Roberta's fall with her chains. Slowing the fall significantly so as to not make lasting injuries.

Yuma's fall needed more grace, and obviously, she needs to use her limited magical resources to maximum effect so as to not waste her magic excessively, but she landed beside the blue-clad man with the ease of a child jumping from a small flight of stairs.

"Yuma! Wha-?"

Roberta came next, Kyoko's chain wrapped gently on her right ankle. Dangling upside down, she was the most comical of the three females who descended from the building.

Kyoko landed with so little sound one would think she teleported. Arms crossed, like she was used to jumping from the top floor, Kyoko looked at the different kind of silentness of the area. Oh sure, there were still noises, but the alien attack was over, and the enemies were down and silent.

With Steve were Thor and Hulk. They were surrounding a... "He's asleep, right?" Yuma asked. She summoned her staff and pointed it to the Iron Man. Her magical glyph filled with stars and pandas glowed on the floor. Tony Stark glowed green for a moment before opening his eyes.

"What just happened?"

Kyoko then smacked Yuma before saying, "Drop the buff on Steve already."

Yuma's eyes widened, "Yeah sure." And Steve's costume returned to its blue tight suit.

"Does anyone want shawarma? I've never tried one and I think there's a shawarma stand nearby." Tony Stark said, sitting up. The green glyph was still glowing on the floor, but Yuma extended it to reach all those around them. It let Tony Stark stand upright. It closed all the cuts and injuries that Thor and Steve sustained. Even healed the bruises of Hulk, who morphed back into the weathered man from earlier.

Kyoko wanted to reprimand her again, but figured it'll be futile.

"Can you put me down now, Kyoko?" Roberta asked.

* * *

><p>Ian McNee could see… could feel three practitioners of magic. One was the green-haired child who has the most peculiar magical glyph (and she could use wordless magic - a thought to be forgotten art), another was the Asgardian Thor, but only because of the hammer he wields, and the last one was... shall we say, masking herself.<p>

'Herself' because he has this gut feeling that this was the [Kyoko/Ophelia] phenomenon. Untutored she may be, her cloaking skills as well as her conjuring skills were on a level of their own. If he didn't have the First Tarot, Ian would have never seen Kyoko because of the cloaking mask she has on herself.

"So this is what you look like?" Ian McNee whispered. He could go to them and introduce himself, but what would he say? He could introduce himself as a teacher wanting to tutor the young kid, but that sounds pretty stalker-y and desperate. And right after this invasion?

No. Finesse and delicacy is needed for this. If worse comes to worst, he _could_ just absorb all her magic for himself. Seeing all that magical potential _not_ be tempered is just a sin.

* * *

><p>"Steve, is he a bad man?" Yuma asked, holding the hand of Steve Rogers as they watched as Thor and a chained Loki enter a portal. Recently, after the aftermath of the invasion of an alien race known as Chitauri, Yuma and Steve have gotten closer than ever. A sibling-like relationship where Steve tries his best to be the '<em>oni-san<em>' to the young girl and Yuma tries to be caring '_imouto_' to the hopelessly clueless young man. Of course, Kyoko found it all manga-like.

"What do you think?" Steve asked.

"I think..." Yuma waved at Thor who grinned at her - apparently all the Avengers Initiative members (including that sourly Dr. Banner) had a soft spot for the greenette. "I think he's... not himself."

Steve looked the kid, puzzled. "Not himself, what do you mean?"

Yuma shrugged, "I don't know. He has this feel on him. Like... someone placed a spell on him."

"He's a magician too, Yuma." Steve told her.

"I know but..." Yuma tried to find the right words, "_Onee-chan_, can you feel it too?"

The itch the two [Puella Magi] felt happened to be the force exerted by [Tessaract], and to a lesser extent, Loki's scepter, but it feels as if...

"Loki himself _is_ brainwashed." Kyoko shot in the dark. She was munching on a big bag of Lays chips. She stayed near the two, but she sat on top of a street lamp.

Steve didn't say anything, but it did somewhat sink on him. "He did say he was 'burdened' to do something."

Kyoko shrugged and brought out a carton of orange juice from her sweatshirt's pocket. The Avengers was less enthusiastic about Kyoko but they did start to warm up on her. Clint, Tasha and Roberta seemed to take an undisguised interest on her. Clint and Kyoko actually bonded over sparring sessions where Kyoko simply wiped him. If she's transformed. Clint liked her because she physically pushed him further. Better than any teacher he's ever had. Tasha and Roberta sometimes sparred with Kyoko but the three women's friendship seemed to ride on a silent connection that they only shared to themselves. A sort of friendship only the three can seem to decipher.

"Does that excuse him from killing more than hundreds of people?" Thankfully, with the Avengers Initiative's efforts, casualties were not worse. "I don't really care."

"You, really?" Steve looked up.

Kyoko didn't meet his gaze. "Death happens almost on a daily basis. That's the reality of the real world. What he did, I admit, was inexcusable, but that doesn't change the fact that I and Yuma can see that someone –regardless of whoever this person is– was, or is still, controlling him."

The three watched as a blue-hued portal appeared from where the two brothers stood. The large man then looked at each one present; Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Natasha, Clint and Roberta from S.H.I.E.L.D., to Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, and to Steve and the two kids; he nodded to each one, silently bidding farewell, before the portal swallowed the two siblings.

_It's all pretty anticlimactic_, Kyoko would say. Without dropping her bag of chips, Kyoko jumped down to the ground, right beside Yuma. "I found a new ramen place nearby." Kyoko told to Yuma and Steve. The redhead might still have a bit of awkwardness with the older blond, but she was looking at it with opened eyes.

Now that Kyoko and Yuma are not really doing anything with regards to their [Puella Magi] mission, the idea that Yuma only has Kyoko as the closest thing of a family is really startling and depressing. Now that the [Wraiths] look like they're finally been vanquished, Kyoko wanted Yuma to have a future. A future that transcends being collected by the benevolent [Law of Cycles]. Specifically, a future where Yuma grows up happy and, hopefully, independent and successful.

It doesn't bother her that she's looking at the situation through the eyes of a parent. Or that of an older sibling. And, maybe, she still sees Momo in Yuma. But that doesn't change the care she feels for the young greenette.

And in her older sibling eyes, she can't raise Yuma by her own. And that's where Steve comes in. She'd bear all the awkwardness and try to extend her hand to the man if it meant that Steve would be there for Yuma. It is pretty good that Steve and Yuma already care for each other, so that lessens her worry over Yuma's situation.

"Really, _onee-chan_!?" Yuma's face beamed. "Let's go try it!" She turned to Steve and tugged the older man's arm.

"But," Steve started, "before we do that, I have to tell you something." He then guided Yuma and Kyoko towards Nick Fury and Maria Hill.

* * *

><p>Steve could clearly remember the event right after the members of Avengers went out for shawarma. Nick Fury had ordered the two children to be subjected to an interrogation. Apparently, Kyoko and Yuma were under suspicion during the events of the Chitauri invasion.<p>

Snooping around, Steve learned that it is because the two children are in possession of superior anti-surveillance technology. Technology that even seem to eclipse Stark Industries.

Of course, it could be because of the magic the two girls seem to wield but Steve was could not have voiced it out sooner during the interrogation because he didn't know that the two girls were being interviewed at that time. He only leaned that they were interrogated when Yuma told him so. A week after the date.

Then, Kyoko added that S.H.I.E.L.D. even asked for the help of a child psychologist. Steve had to google what a child psychologist was on the computer S.H.I.E.L.D. has provided on his apartment because during his time, there were no such thing as 'child psychologists'.

When he confronted Nick Fury, Nick was kind enough to show him the interview tapes. When he showed them to him, Steve was surprised to see that Tony Stark participated in the interrogation. Even more surprising was there was the absence of audio and Yuma and Kyoko appeared as black blobs.

They didn't know that the two girls were transformed during the interrogation. It caused quite a stir on S.H.I.E.L.D. because of two things: one was the two children's presence seem to even confuse non-digital recordings, and two, them saying that they could wield magic. Kyoko and Yuma eluded almost all forms of surveillance technology that S.H.I.E.L.D. possessed and they even had to resort to physically writing the verbal exchanges. A transcript that he was granted clearance of seeing – but still hasn't finished reading at home.

Perhaps, the most surprising event of the whole interview is when two men literally appeared out of thin air. A man named Doctor Strange and Ian McNee.

It got complicated after that. Which is why he still hasn't finished reading the 50+ page transcript at home.

Because, of course, Nick Fury upholstered his gun, Maria Hill, with a whole squad of agents, stormed inside the room, and Tony Stark suited up. Calmly, wanting to pacify the situation, Doctor Strange explained that Kyoko and Yuma, by proxy of being able to wield the _arcane ars_, is part of the _magical_ community. And that the two kids should have someone to represent them. Or something like that. He hasn't finished reading the transcript after all.

Still, when the Doctor had talked to the Colonel, they seemed to have established a compromise. At least, that's what he has been able skim so far when he took a peek at the final pages of transcript.

Anyway, there was a new development with regards to Kyoko and Yuma. No matter how much he wanted to be the adult for the two, participating on dangerous missions as a member of the Avengers - where a mistake can mean life or death, he knows that Steve should leave Kyoko and Yuma in capable hands. At least when he is not around.

Nick Fury was standing beside a bald man in a wheel chair.

"Yuma, Kyoko…" he said, "This is Charles Xavier." The man had two fingers pressed on his right temple and was staring at the two girls as they neared.

* * *

><p>Yuma and Kyoko immediately felt something on their heads.<p>

"Get out of our heads." Kyoko summoned her spear from her [Soul Gem]. She quickly pointed it to the man in the wheel chair.

The aged man simply leaned back, looking genuinely apologetic. "I apologize for that, young lady. I was simply checking if you really were special."

Yuma crossed her arms, "Did _he,"_ she mention to the other bald man, "put you up to this?"

Nick Fury didn't answer the question.

Steve glared at the Colonel – which seems to happen on more than one occasion when Yuma and Kyoko are around.

Fortunately, Professor X clarified it, "No, Dr. Samson put me up to this. And, again, I apologize."

Dr. Leonard Samson, the psychiatrist S.H.I.E.L.D. invited in their interrogation. Yuma only continued glaring at the colonel.

* * *

><p>Steve looked at Professor X, obviously peeved this time. He met him prior to this; he actually was one of the initial people he met right after being defrosted. The man with disability actually helped him through the tough time of adjusting to a new era.<p>

Oh, Steve was aware that the professor was a telepath – one of the best telepaths of the world apparently - "I thought you told me you'd never invade someone's privacy."

The old man actually seemed to shrink in his seat. "While I admit that I tried to do it with finesse, that doesn't excuse me invading your friends' heads." He turned to Kyoko, "The fact that you could actually feel me when I'm being careful means you are really _special_."

Nick Fury's eyes widened at this. Really, because the only people who could actually feel the him when he's discretely reading minds is less than the fingers of a hand.

Steve could see Kyoko give the man with disability an once-over, "You're a mutant." She then vanished her spear.

"Yes, I am." Charles Xavier said cordially.

"First time meeting one up-close. You look normal." The way she told him didn't really sound that offensive. Like she was stating an unbiased fact and observation. She turned to Steve, "So why do you want us to meet these two baldies?"

Professor X actually laughed while Nick Fury simple raised a brow.

Steve could feel that the ice was actually broken, "Well, Professor X here owns a school."

Kyoko dunked her hand into the bag of chips, fishing for three pieces that she shoved into her mouth, "You're not planning on enrolling us there, are you?"

If Steve was upset that Kyoko was speaking while chewing, and in the process, was spitting out bits of chips from her mouth, he was getting pretty good at hiding it now. "Will you be upset if I say yes?"

"Are the meals for free?" Kyoko asked sinking her hand back into the bag.

"Yes." The professor interrupted, "That as well as the lodging."

_Are you really considering this, _onee-chan_? _Asked Yuma telepathically.

_Yes. There are no more _[Wraiths]_ so there's nothing worth using our powers for. And, think of it this way, at least we won't have to lie or something if we do decide to go back to school_. Kyoko reasoned.

"Are you gonna teach us math?" Yuma asked. Three adults looked at the young kid, "I hate math."

"Kitty's the one who teaches math." Charles told her.

"You have a talking cat?" Yuma asked, curious all of a sudden.

"…something like that." He answered vaguely.

_I'm in_. Kyoko told Yuma telepathically. This professor might be able to read minds, but what the heck. Besides, guilt-free, _free_ food.

Yuma, however, was still not sure. "What about you, Mr. Steve? Are we not gonna be neighbors anymore?"

Steve Rogers looked at the child and smiled, "S.H.I.E.L.D. is giving me an apartment near your school."

"Why can't we live with you? I don't want to live in a dorm." Yuma asked honestly.

Steve knelt in front of the young girl and tucked a lock of hair behind her ears, "Is that what you want?"

Yuma looked at Kyoko before looking at Steve, "I want the three of us living together! We're family. We stick together."

The blond hero looked at the two bold men, "Is that arrangement feasible?"

"I don't see why not." Professor X shrugged.

"If you're really sure." Nick Fury told him.

Yuma grinned. "It's settled then!"

* * *

><p>Hidden by a cloaking spell, two individuals watched the verbal exchange of the five.<p>

"For someone to have that much potential…" She was a woman. With short, white hair and a quiet sureness in her actions. Her name was Clea, apprentice of the current [Sorcerer Supreme].

"I wish to temper this child. Both children actually. I may not know the extent of their capabilities but I want to see them in their peak form." The green-haired child was very young, possessing of a power most suited for healing. What branch of healing, Dr. Stephen Strange isn't sure yet.

In fact, Dr. Strange was already thinking of an aptitude test to see what school of magic is most suited for them both. He was also mentally composing a list of possible supplemental tutors for the more exotic magicks. Like Agatha Harkness for [Witchcraft].

What makes him so eager stems from not the green-haired child, but on the redhead. Such… untempered potential and rawness. Hopefully, with the tutelage comes the propagation of a sense of duty in protecting this dimension from powerful, evil entities.

"When are we going to talk to them?" Clea asked.

Dr. Strange watched as the two kids and the one known as Captain America ride a vintage but stylish motorcycle wuth a sidecar. The three strapped on helmets before they rode off from where they are.

"Soon. Let us get them… settled first."

* * *

><p>Arriving back in <em>her<em> timeline, Homura could finally let out a sigh of relief. Of course she could go back to before texting Madoka that she wouldn't be able to meet up with her today, but she doesn't like using that power often. When it comes to Madoka that is.

She's trying to savor the linear-ness of Madoka's timeline. Because while Madoka was basically immortal, her 'shell' or mortal coil wasn't. In fact, the timeline where [Madoka] existed was the only timeline she hasn't looked on ahead. Fearing for the day will come when Madoka would be old and ready to pass on naturally. Also, cheating with Madoka feels like defiling all the things she's done for her best friend.

Her minions reported that there was nothing worth mentioning that happened today, aside from the [Rat] showing up today telling to the Clara Dolls that something was brewing in a certain timeline.

Homura looked in the timeline the [Rat] was talking about and found it to be the timeline where Tomoe Mami was banished.

Fast-forwarding the events, Homura could only see nothing but… a peculiar sense of pain and sadness. For the timeline where Mami was located would evolve into something Reed Richards would refer to as the [Mojoverse].

Homura may not be comfortable around the blonde, but she doesn't want Mami to suffer the way she will suffer should she stay in the [Mojoverse], so before the beings that would dominate the timeline would get a stronghold, Homura shed her mortal shell and showed her true self.

With her current state, the multiverse was clean, disorganized and in constant flux. Concentrating on the place where Mami was banished, Homura used a hand to pluck the [Adorning Yellow] and place Mami in a…

"What do we have here?"

A new but familiar voice said behind her.

Homura turned around, still clutching the essence of one [Mami/Candeloro], just the version where Mami was in the [Mojoverse] and saw the being known as Thanos.

* * *

><p>"Hey kid? Kid? Are you still alive?" She couldn't understand what he was saying because she never really immersed herself into her English studies because of being a [Magical Girl].<p>

"Hey kid?" This time, she felt a hand shaking her shoulder.

"_I'm tired._" She told her.

There was a silent moment before, "_You're still alive then_." He said in perfect Japanese. Actually, with a Kansai accent.

"_What… happened? Where am I?"_ She opened her eyes, and came face to face in a man in a skull jumpsuit. He had rough, chiseled features. Dark hair and an almost permanent-scowl on his face as well.

What she noticed next then were the guns and bullets and grenades strapped around his body.

"_Who are you?_" Mami asked.

The man was holding a cigar on his right hand. He dropped it on the ground and used a combat booted foot to kill the smoke from the cigar. "_For your safety you shouldn't know._"

"_That's a peculiar name._" Oddly enough, he doesn't scare her. She's seen men twice as scary and broken as him kill themselves because of the influence of [Wraiths]. And, really, it leaves a lasting impression. With all the blood and gore, and quite a lot of brain matter for her liking, to be honest.

"_Call me, the Punisher._"

Mami Tomoe could only tilt her head. "_Punisher, hm…_"


	14. Act 1:3

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **so far, theRebellion and Avengers (2012) movie

**A/N: **...italicized conversations mean that it's spoken in Japanese. I'm so excited for the following events. Like the X-Men learning over the powers of our girls, Dr. Strange teaching Kyoko and Yuma formal magic, and a Mami and Frank Castle team-up! Look forward for it! :D

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 13<strong>

* * *

><p>A sea of Lottes battled the descending forces of pink-skinned, human-like creatures with advanced alien technology. A few of them had blue skin, but they all looked similar in physiology. These were known as the Kree. A militaristic alien race that was, apparently, under the rule of one Thanos.<p>

Homura has dispatched the Incubator race earlier, and according to their last report, they were engaging the combined forces of the Chitauri and the Skrull race in both the Earth's stratosphere and in space. Both races were also under the control of Thanos.

"Tell me, young one, why do you continue to fight?" The purple-skinned Eternal asked.

Currently, the [Demon] Homura Akemi was seated in front of Thanos. Stripped of her mortal shell, the reality around them was white. So white it made the normal person dizzy. She sat on her old, rickety, wooden chair, in front of Thanos, who sat on an extravagant golden chair. Or a metal that appears to be gold. In between them was the timeline where Homura resided, disfigured in such a way that it resembled a shogi board. At least, according to the reality through the eyes of Homura. Thanos might perceive it as a chessboard, or a board game of extraterrestrial origin.

"Why do you persist to fight someone who doesn't wish to fight you?" Homura fired back. She knew she was outmatched in this battle. Thanos has three races working for him, the Chitauri and a significant sect of the both the Kree and Skrull race. Races that, according to Homura's memory, hated each other.

The pieces of the shogi board were constantly in flux.

"Perhaps, I wish nothing more than to entertain myself." Thanos shot back, resting his elbow on the armrest of his magnificent chair.

"Indeed?" Homura's hands were daintily placed over her lap. A telepathic report from a general Luisolette told her than the Russians of the timeline has launched three nukes to try and battle the alien invaders. It was a nice move, and will be better if her Lieses would guide it to an area where it would hurt more.

"And I am the entertainment?" In her hands were her minions and the Incubator race. A third party, but with a common enemy, engaged Thanos' forces, the humans of the timeline. She might be outmatched, but she is sure she wouldn't be outsmarted.

"No, pure coincidence that we met."

_Yeah right_. Homura thought, stretching her dark wings because it's gotten numb. Earlier, the conversation between Thanos and Homura was… to put in a way… quaint. But then, Thanos barred his teeth and told her that he would like to test his new, subjugated forces, and had thus unleashed the three races to the Earth of this timeline. She worried over what happened to Mami. Because right after Thanos unleashed his forces, Homura unwittingly dropped Mami's essences to this space due to the surprise. And because of having her hands tied, Homura doesn't know what happened to that Mami, and all she could do is pray that Mami doesn't end up scattering across the nothingness of this reality.

The [Demon] doesn't have the luxury of checking in on the [Adorning Yellow] because she was using all of her powers trying to fight Thanos on a stalemate. And Thanos wasn't even taking this battle very seriously because he wasn't directly participating on the invasion.

She also worried over Madoka's safety. Like Kyoko, Madoka was one of the only few beings designated as a [Singularity] in the multiverse. But unlike Kyoko, who was compressed into a single unit, Madoka existed as such because she was an imprisoned cosmic being – one given mortal flesh. Therefore, her current karmic destiny was even greater than before she turned into a [Goddess]. So great in fact, that Homura could theorize that a weak magical user would feel her three light years away. But that theory hasn't been tested because the timeline Homura placed Madoka in was a timeline with literally no superhero, no magical community, and basically the most ordinary one in the vast multiverse.

Homura then saw the shogi piece that had the word 'nuke' in it vanish. An oddity, because she was sure that the three were aimed to three of the biggest motherships of the invaders.

"Teleportation?" Homura inquired, acting as if this was a game played by friends and not a bloody war between by two gods.

Homura also has to be careful in guarding Madoka, the words of the [-indescribable-] still echoing in the back of her head. She can't outright pool her forces to protect one human, right? Thanos would see right through it. He would be curious of Madoka, and who knows what would happen then?

"A certain trick of mine." Thanos waved a gloved hand.

Wait a minute. Homura was aware that the Eternal has the means to facilitate a teleportation – whether it be through mysticism or through science – even large scale ones but Homura never felt any energy used to facilitate the teleportation earlier. And even with his mutant, Eternal powers, it wouldn't be feasible.

The only way to have a teleportation power that wouldn't use any type of energy is when the being has absolute/near-absolute control over the cosmos. And Thanos doesn't have that kind of power.

"You're curious." Thanos observed. He then grinned like a predator who has cornered his prey. "Well, I want to show you this." He raised the gloved hand.

That is no ordinary glove. It isn't even a 'glove' for 'gauntlet' would properly describe it. Not ordinary because Homura could feel power from it. The material the gauntlet was made from had a metallic but leathery texture to it. But what made it distinct were the three shining gems strapped on the gauntlet; a red, fiery gem that was situated at the base of the gauntlet's thumb, a glittering orange gem that was placed at the knuckle of the gauntlet's pinky finger, and a reflective purple gem not unlike Homura's eyes that was on the knuckle of the gauntlet's ring finger.

Those look like-

The Eternal laughed at the expression Homura wore. An expression that was a mixture of worry, surprise and, for the first time since the rebirth of the multiverse, fear.

* * *

><p>"Here you go, Steve <em>nii-san<em>." Yuma handed a personalized bento box to the blond man. Rice balls shaped like the heads of Yuma, Kyoko and Steve nestled between a salad that consisted of lettuce, cherry tomatoes, carrots and cucumbers. For protein, Yuma included two huge meatballs that was last night's dinner and hotdogs shaped into an octopus.

How Yuma was able to do something as intricate as this in under fifteen minutes was a miracle.

The first week in this swanky, three-bedroom apartment located in a nice neighborhood in Westchester County, New York was filled with adjusting to the new environment. As well as the looming distress of going back to school for the two girls.

A week filled with Steve not really doing anything besides reading books and exercising. A week where Yuma and Kyoko were to be transferred to the pseudo-Ivy League school for mutants.

Basically, Steve was not really doing anything, while Kyoko and Yuma were slowly being eased into a _shojou_ manga-like schedule that would consist of a rise-eat-sleep-school-home-eat-homework-sleep schedule.

It was Kyoko who actually noticed the unease of the blond superhero. And she was the one who told Yuma that they needed to intervene. So, that same night, after dinner, and when Yuma had brought out the night's desert – tiramisu – Yuma was the one who asked Steve how he was doing.

"I'm fine." Was the Steve's curt reply.

"But you're bored." Kyoko told him dryly, stabbing her slice of the desert with her fork and dunking the fork into her mouth.

Steve didn't really confirm nor deny, but Yuma and Kyoko liked to think they knew Steve better. Especially because they both knew that they would've lost it if they were in his shoes. Even Kyoko, a really lazy [Puella Magi], had to admit that she would've gone crazy if [Wraiths] stopped showing up and she was forced to do nothing.

So that next day, Yuma and Steve scoured for a job through the local newspaper. A probably solution, in the eyes of the three. But with someone with a complicated history like Steve Rogers, the prospects of getting a job were…

"…nonexistent." Kyoko whispered to Yuma as Steve was busily scanning the classified ads section of the newspaper.

"I don't suppose we could add 'savior of New York from Chitauri invasion' in his resume, couldn't we?" Yuma asked as she quickly edited Steve's resume again. Of course, before Yuma even knew what a resume is, the kid was first educated when it came to job hunting by both Steve, Kyoko and Google.

"_If I read that from a job applicant, I would never take Steve seriously."_ She told the young girl in Japanese so as to not upset the blond man.

The two girls have gotten pretty desperate that afternoon that Yuma actually wanted to ask S.H.I.E.L.D. if they could help, but Steve was pretty adamant about abusing powers of the organization. However, they didn't really have to say anything because S.H.I.E.L.D. had known about it anyway – which lead to a moment of paranoia for Kyoko (who actually started to use her magic to debug _her_ house of any surveillance).

So that next morning, a pretty blonde young woman knocked on the door and introduced herself as Sharon Carter, an agent from S.H.I.E.L.D. She told them that she might have what Captain Steve Rogers might need in their quest for employment. Some believably fake papers, complete with digital footprints thanks to Tony Stark, and a diploma – also believably fake.

Of course, with Steve being such a boy scout, he didn't want to lie and cheat in getting a job. Fortunately, Sharon explained to him that they didn't fabricate anything. S.H.I.E.L.D. merely modernized Steve's personal background and history. So his diploma is a BA in Literature, his educational history from elementary to college was updated to the current names of their respective schools, and as an incentive to the companies interviewing Steve, a pretty convincing letter from the government that gave high praise to Steve's work ethic when he was volunteering for them.

With that, Sharon Carter helped the three in creating a pretty convincing and solid resume.

So we end up on the next day, where Yuma was handing said bento box to Steve Rogers as his lunch for the day, because Steve would be going out of the house for job interviews. Because Yuma, and even _Kyoko_ herself, has advised that it would do the man good to get out more. And to socialize with more people, not just with two underage kids. And no, going to the gym in the middle of the night to hit punching bags doesn't count as socializing.

Kyoko was once again looking over Steve's list of job interviews the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Sharon gave to them the night before. She was eating a bowl of cereal, watching as Steve stuff the bento box into his modest leather portfolio. His lunch was pretty compact so it didn't really make his briefcase bulge as much.

The obviously stressed young man then moved to a full-size mirror and checked himself again. "Is my necktie okay?"

Yuma grinned, "I think it looks cool on you, Steve." Yeah, the '_nii-san'_ was pretty overkill.

Kyoko on other hand merely shrugged.

There was a knock on the door.

"What now?" Steve adjusted his dark blue blazer one last time before answering the door, Yuma trailed Steve.

"Ready?" It was the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent again.

"Ms. Carter! Um…"

Sharon Carter grinned and let herself in. Dressed in casual clothing that composed of a floral blouse tucked under high waist denim jeans and a pair of comfortable keds, the young woman would never be suspected as someone capable of bringing down governments via espionage.

"Hey, Yuma!" Sharon greeted the young kid, leaning forward and placing her hands on her knees.

Yuma greeted back but just had to ask, "Why are you here again, Ms. Sharon?"

Sharon merely laughed, "Call me Sharon, calling me 'miss' makes me feel old. I'm not done helping your friend here." She gave the girl a wink and then turned to Steve, "Well, let's see what we've got…"

The blonde woman gave Steve a once-over. Eyeing every detail that made Steve kind of clammy and ever more nervous. "Nice…" The young female told him after a few seconds. But she had to correct some things, like his crooked necktie, which doubled the distress the young man was feeling due to being in close proximity to a female. Different eras, after all. And Steve never really had that much experience with girls in the first place.

"One last thing." The girl raised a hand.

"H-hey!"

"Hold still, will you!"

"You're ruining my hair." Granted, Steve was never really someone who was overly obsessed with his own locks, but isn't he supposed to look… professional today?

"Trust me." She then ruffled his slicked-up hair to a neat but semi-tousled one.

Once done, she turned to Yuma, "There isn't that better?"

Yuma actually giggled, "Yes. He looks funny earlier."

Steve gave the young girl a withering glance, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"_Onee-chan_ made me." Yuma confessed.

Sharon merely smiled before hooking an arm to the young legend. Which of course, earned the burning of his cheeks – one that reached right up to his ears. "Well, then… Shall we?"

"Wha-what's going on?"

"I'll be accompanying you today, Captain." Her smile was easy. And honestly, teasing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s number one idol is pretty fun.

"Um…"

"Bye Steve! By Sharon!" Yuma called out as the two left the house.

* * *

><p>"<em>Where am I?"<em> Mami asked to the imposing man. They were in a warehouse. At least, what used to be a warehouse. Everything was ashes, fire and debris. In the distance, the wailing of sound of a siren could be heard.

The Punisher observed the young girl. Blonde with a very distinct hair style, and wearing a uniform. A student, probably in middle school. "_What's the last thing you remember?_"

Mami tried to remember. She was… it was blurry. Either she was fighting [Wraiths] earlier, or she had been going home from school. She looked at her magical ring, and, yes, she is a [Puella Magi]. But it all seems too hazy for her.

"_I… I…_" Mami never finished his question because the man who called himself Punisher picked up a grenade from his belt.

"_Get down."_ He told her as he removed the safety pin and chuck it somewhere behind her.

* * *

><p>"<em>What do you think Steve's doing right now?<em>" Yuma asked as the two watched Spongebob Squarepants. The two girls sat in the living room sofa, with Kyoko stuffing herself with Pringles.

"_I don't know_." Spongebob and Patrick were currently lost in the wilderness, with Spongebob acting like he lost it because they're stuck in a cave.

"_Do you think we could, like, spy on them?_" Yuma asked, her eyes never leaving the screen.

"_Do you want to?_" Kyoko asked, her eyes also glued to the TV.

"_I'm bored_." The greenette told her.

Kyoko turned to the kid, "_Well, we are running low on our Pocky stash._"

Yuma grinned and stood up.

* * *

><p>"<em>What is going on?<em>" Mami asked as she ducked again as this crazy man threw another grenade somewhere. It ended with a loud bang of course, but Mami was more than used to explosions such as these so it didn't hurt her ears, and besides, her [Tiro Finale] was louder than this.

"_I told you to keep your head down._"

Mami used her hands to shield her head. She could transform and be done with it by fleeing, but she has a code that she'd only use her [Puella Magi] powers when [Wraiths] were added into the mix. Of course, the Incubator race never prohibited nor promoted the use of their powers outside of [Wraith] hunts but Mami would like to think she was a good person. A good person who only used her powers for the greater good and not for personal gain.

With her eyes closed, she heard gun shots. But it wasn't coming from the crazy person beside her.

"Damnit." The Punisher hissed in English. He unstrapped his combat rifle on his back and started retaliating. There was a civilian nearby, and just when the Punisher was so sure that this place was a deserted place.

What was a young kid doing at a Yakuza warehouse at 3AM anyway? Unless of course, she's being trafficked.

The reinforcements were starting to arrive, and the longer the two of them stayed here, the slimmer the chances are of both of them leaving this area alive. Of course, the Punisher would have a higher chance of surviving by himself but there was a kid here. And that… complicated things.

"_We have to go_." He slung his gun back on his back and pulled the girl up by the arm.

"_Where?_" Mami asked, noticing the young men with guns pointed at them both. With her [Puella Magi] experience, Mami did a quick scan; this place was unfamiliar to her, and Mami knew her city, Mitakihara, like the back of her hand. Every warehouse, every abandoned building, every place where people could conduct [Wraith]-induced suicide pacts, she knew all of them. And this place looked foreign to her.

"_Away from here!_" The dark-haired man used his body to shield the girl from any stray bullets that might hurt her. Together, the young girl and the man retreated, pursued by the armed men.

* * *

><p>"<em>Yuma, how are your [Cube] supplies lately<em>?" With all that's happened with the invasion, Kyoko was actually planning of conducting another [Cube Farming] because of all the resources they've used before.

Yuma frowned. "_Mine's pretty low._" The two kids were dangling on the top floor of a five-storey building, watching Steve through the window of a nearby building. He was seated comfortably, fondling with his necktie as he waited for his turn to be interviewed.

"_Let's go search for a good place to [Farm] later._" They weren't transformed, but they did reach the top by using magic-induced super jumps. It wasn't that hard to look for Steve because Kyoko was pretty good at tracking people – and since Steve has been buffed by Yuma sometime ago, searching for Yuma's signature that wasn't in Yuma was all she did.

Kyoko brought out a packet of Pocky from her pockets and opened it. "_Want some_?" She extended the treat to Yuma, who took a piece.

The two watched as Steve stood up and walk through the door where he would be interviewed.

* * *

><p>Mami wasn't really that out of breath when she and the man nicknamed Punisher stopped by a secluded forest away from the warehouse. It was dark and quiet, with noise coming only from the woodland creatures.<p>

The Punisher looked at the girl; they ran for fifteen minutes straight, and while he was used to runs like earlier, this girl looked like she isn't the athletic type. But here she is, not tired at all. "_I'm beginning to be suspicious of you_." He told her.

Honestly, if he didn't have a Kansai accent, Mami would've taken him more seriously. "_I suppose I should say the same to you._"

"_What were you doing in that warehouse at this time of the night?_" the Punisher demanded.

Mami pursued her lips. "_I… I don't remember._"

"_And you suppose I should just believe that?_" the Punisher asked. It was a front, for he was convinced that this young girl is a victim of human trafficking. He was only trying to agitate her so that she'd be more honest with him.

Mami shrugged. Gone was the respectful Tomoe Mami. This was the distressed, out of her element, really confused Mami. It would have been better if there was a [Wraith] nearby but Mami has yet to feel any pull from them since that would explain the weirdness of it all. So no, no [Wraiths]. Even at this time of the night, where [Wraiths] are most active.

Something was definitely going on here.

"_I'm… a resident of Mitakihara._" Mami started.

"_Is that a prefecture near here?_"

The blonde girl shook her head, "_No, it's a city._"

The Punisher looked at the kid, "_Now you're playing me._"

Mami tilted her head, placing a hand over her chin, "_What do you mean?_"

"_There is no such thing as Mitakihara._" He told her, bringing out a pistol, removing its safety lock and attaching a silencer. He's heard a rustle that was different from an animal's movement nearby.

"_Sure there is, it's right beside the city of Kazamino._" She heard it too, but didn't show it to the suspicious man, lest he be even more suspicious of her.

"_Either you're an escapee from a mental ward, or you're really, really drugged right now._" Which supports his original assessment that this girl here is a victim of human trafficking. Using his free hand, he reached for one of his pouches and brought out a map of Japan. "_There's no Kazamino or Mitakihara in this year's map. Or any of the previous maps I've seen._"

Mami scrunched her eyebrows together, "_That's not possible,_" She grabbed the map and searched for her city in it. When she couldn't search for it, she asked, "_What's the date today?_" She knows of a magical girl who had control over time, so time travel is not so absurd anymore when it came to [Puella Magi].

He told her, which made her even confused. Because the dates were still the same. Japan was still the same, at least according to this map. Either this was a really elaborate illusion (from either a [Wraith] or a magical girl) or, again, something was definitely going on.

Mami raised a hand and summoned her [Gem]. The Punisher has his back facing her, busily scanning the area, unable to see the magic she was trying to display. Using subtle magic, Mami tried to strip the illusion, but found out that there was no magic being played here. Not even a pulse from the unholy powers that a [Wraith] had.

"_What the heck's going on?_" Mami asked before the Punisher raised his gun and fired at something in the dark.


	15. Act 1:4

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **so far, the Rebellion and Avengers (2012) movie

**A/N: **...Of course, if Homura faced against Thanos with a complete set of Infinity Gems, she wouldn't stand a chance.

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 14<strong>

* * *

><p>"All this power," Thanos boasted, "in the palm of my hands." The delicate stalemate of the battle quickly shifted in favor of the mad Eternal as he used the power of three [Infinity Gems]. "Is this not enviable?" With a wave of his hand, Thanos simply made a whole battalion of Lottes stationed in Africa vanish. Another wave ended with a flash as the United States of the Earth's timeline was leveled by the three nukes the purple-skinned man erased earlier.<p>

In seconds, or what might have been weeks, or days, Homura saw the Earth – her shogi board – as a rapidly rotting piece of wood. Still, the Russians continued to fight. With the US gone, China was the country who took the mantle of protecting the weaker countries. The UN has established a near-absolute control on all countries in the hopes of trying to repel the invading aliens with a united front. And Japan… bittersweet, harsh and lovely Japan tried to stand strong.

In a certain city, of the small but populous country, a young pink-haired girl sat on a couch of her living room. She was with her family watching the news. Six hours ago, the United States of America was eradicated by what appears to be a nuclear strike. Global morale was in an all-time low for one of the strongest countries fell simply without a chance to defend itself.

Homura tried to be subtle. Subtly when it came to masking Madoka's presence by overloading Thanos' senses by using too much of her magic. Let him think that the pulses he felt came from Homura, not of a simple, pink-haired girl. As a precaution, eleven of her Clara Dolls guarded Madoka's neighborhood, with the remaining ones staying closte to Sayaka, in the case that Homura would need to use her as a pawn.

"Well? How does despair feel like?" the Eternal asked.

Homura tilted her head, squashing the emotions the male clearly wanted to see.

His query was met with silence, her reply merely being simple tilt of her head. He holds three [Infinity Gems]. That makes him a league above her own in terms of raw power. But the [Gems] that he wielded had a… to put it simply… a weakness.

The red one was the [Power Gem]. It simply increased the power of the being infinitesimally. At least, that's what she gathered from her conversations with the [-indescribable-]. The [Red Gem] gave all superpowers to its holder and increased their powers' proficiently to infinite levels. It even exponentially, to the point of the 'nth' degree, raised the power levels of the other [Gems] too. But it has a weakness. The power the [Gem] gave was only, exclusively, granted to the person who wielded it. Furthermore, since Thanos did not directly participate in the invasion, that meant that Homura still had a very, very, very bleak chance of winning. Chances that Homura is not that unfamiliar with.

The purple one was the [Time Gem] while the orange one was the [Space Gem]. Two gems that, essentially, elevated Thanos to the designation of a being such as Homura herself. A combination that turned Thanos into a cosmic being.

The [Space Gem] allows its user to manipulate space anyway one sees fit. Its most basic powers allow one to teleport themselves and others any place they can picture in their mind regardless of distance or preventive measures such as walls or spells. It can also increase the speed of the user. Its more powerful abilities allow one to appear in multiple places at once or altering the distance between objects contrary to the laws of physics. At its peak, according to the [-indescribable-], when used in conjunction with the other gems it allows its user to be at all places in the universe at once simultaneously. Therefore, essentially having the capabilities of being a cosmic being.

The [Time Gem] allows the user total control over the past, present and future. Its most basic ability grants its user visions of possible futures. It allows time travel, control over the age of beings and can also be used as a weapon by trapping enemies or entire worlds in unending loops of time. At its peak, when used with the other gems, it allows its user to exist at all points in time simultaneously.

With the combination of the three, Thanos was able to live outside conventional [Causality] and, again, be one step closer to being a cosmic being – if he wasn't already.

However, Homura would stipulate, "Your current power, not including that of your unending reserves, is not that different from mine." Her smile was sickeningly sweet. "You do not possess the power to bring forth my despair."

"I am _Thanos!_" The man bellowed so loudly it made the solar system of the Earth shake. "The future ruler of the _multi_verse! Wielder of unfathomable powers! You will bow to _**me**_!"

Homura flipped her hair arrogantly. Draw the attention to her, and not to the Earth where Madoka lived.

-0-0-0-

…5…

…4…

…3…

…2…

…1…

-0-0-0-

The sound of a buzzer was heard through the spatial reality of where the [Demon] and the Eternal was located. The man merely raised a brow in response of the new sound.

The shogi board was suddenly aflame, but not before turning into that of a miniature diorama of this timeline's very complex dimensions. Thanos noticed the shift of reality, and realized it too late that he had suddenly been trapped inside a [Bounded Field].

Thanos wasn't that bothered because he had the [Space Gem]. A [Gem] that had the power to break free from any prison created within this multiverse. "Your parlor tricks won't work on me, girl!"

Proudly, he raised his gauntlet. "I hold the power to…" his voice faltered.

"Most peculiar…"

Homura's smile was Cheshire-like, "What's the matter, mister Ruler?"

"This power… escapes even that of mine."

The [Demon]'s smile turned feral-like. "You have the power to bypass any written [Law] of this multiverse." Current multiverse, she wanted to say but didn't.

Suddenly, the white nothingness shifted to that of a park. A park reminiscent to the park where she and Madoka used to pass by every morning. The simple table shifted to that of an elaborate table – an object that was both short and long, wide and narrow, tall and small. It somehow made Thanos dizzy. "But the power I wield," Homura leaned forward, summoning a teacup, "transcends that of the current multiverse."

-0-0-0-

Welcome to the Nutcracker's Procession!

_Freut euch! Für Homulilly ist hier._

Rejoice_!_ For Homullily is here_!_

Exalt_!_ For the Mortal Witch is here_!_

-0-0-0-

The collective Incubator race that was fighting the combined forces of the Chitauri and the Skrull fought harder. 'She's here!' they would wail in agony, if they were capable of emotions.

'She's here!'

'She's here!'

'She's here!'

'She's here!'

And true enough, Homulilly (_Erste_ Form) emerged from a sea of broken Lottes. With her grotesque appearance composed of a record player, a skinny feminine body, and curtains, change in the conditions of the Earth's sky happened; gears of different sizes, different shapes and of different metals filled the sky. Huge furniture, as tall as skyscrapers, like chairs and coffee tables, emerged from the ground. In the air, wooden ships and gondolas floated with nothing more that propellers, seemingly defying physics. And finally, the concept of [Core] shifted from the 'center of gravity' to that of… Thanos looked at this child.

_Freut euch! Freut euch! Freut euch! Freut euch! _Then die!

* * *

><p>"That's a pretty cute lunch you have there." Sharon Carter looked at the lunch box that Steve has brought out from his briefcase. They were eating in a park, Sharon buying from a hotdog stand and Steve eating the bento box Yuma prepared for him.<p>

Having taken off the lid of his bento box, Steve actually tried not to smile at the effort the young girl had in preparing his meal. Even with all the movement he's done with the leather portfolio earlier, Yuma had packed the lunch box tight and neatly, so the artsy effect of the plating didn't get ruined. Steve's riceball head looked especially delicious – no matter how weird it is trying to eat a riceball version of your own head.

"That looks pretty nice!" How she managed to say that clearly with her face stuffed with food was foreign to him.

"You shouldn't talk with your mouth full." It was a reflex. And it especially didn't look nice to a beautiful girl like Sharon.

"You've never eaten a New York hotdog, haven't you?" Sharon teased, but this time with an empty mouth at least.

Finishing the riceball, Steve went for one of the meatballs next. Plated like a cupcake, and frosted with mash potatoes and cheese, Steve took a bite on the deceptive treat. Seated together on a bench in a picturesque park, one would think that the two of them were… more than friends, out for a lunch. That is how Yuma and Kyoko found them.

"What're you guys doing here?" Kyoko ate a chili dog while Yuma held a stick of cotton candy.

"We were bored at home, so we decided to tour around the city." Yuma was still warming up to Sharon, but that doesn't mean she liked what she was seeing between her and Steve. Tactlessly, she took a seat between the two adults in the bench. "We went to all sorts of places then we decided to see what Steve was up to."

"And how did you find us, Yuma?" Sharon asked, sipping from a Slurpee she bought earlier, clearly not bothered that Yuma cockblocked them.

Yuma pointed at Kyoko, who sat on a bench opposite of them, "Kyoko _nee-chan_'s the best tracker I know!"

* * *

><p>The skirmish had been a quick one. This Punisher guy was actually pretty proficient, if not brutal, when it came to fighting these Yakuza men.<p>

Mami watched as the man in a skull outfit shoot an assailant of hers a few feet away. It bothered her so much of how easily this man took a life, but at the same time she was thankful that he was protecting her.

With her [Puella Magi] powers, she could knock out these men and not leave corpses. But, again, she doesn't like using her powers for personal gain, even if it meant getting out of sticky situations without casualties. But that doesn't mean that she wasn't itching to try and transform.

However, by the time she had started to contemplate on transforming, this Punisher guy had finished killing everyone around them and was holstering his gun.

"_Let's go, before they send in reinforcements."_

Mami nodded and followed the man as they trekked through the forest.

"_Do you have family, girl?_" the dark-haired man asked as they walked quietly in the silence. It was a good thing that this girl didn't make any sound too, but it still made him suspicious that she appeared to be experienced at being stealthy.

"_Orphan._" Mami told him coolly. It wasn't really that much of a sore subject anymore – she's moved on – but it still upset her a little when people asked.

With no one to file a missing case report on this girl, no one would notice her missing until the school or her friends would notice. Her status definitely made her an ideal victim for human trafficking.

"_Close relatives?_"

Mami rubbed her temples, "_A distant relative of mine sends financial support to me monthly, but I never really see him."_ However, the details were starting to get hazier, like she was juggling two sets of memories. One had a memory of living with a closer relative, an aunt, and the other had memories of living alone in a cheap apartment.

_So, she's well and truly alone_, the Punisher concluded. _And since the Yakuza has seen her with me_… It made him feel like he has to take responsibility. After all, the only alternative of hers in this situation is to be murdered because of being seen around him. This particular branch the Japanese criminal organization liked to mark the people around him as people to be killed.

Feeling like he would be regretting this, he said, "_Let's go."_

* * *

><p>"So, how did your interviews go?" With Steve's next interview being a few hours away, the four of them killed time in the park. Yuma and Steve were feeding bread crumbs to ducks by the pond.<p>

"I think I could have done better."

"I think you did great." she encouraged.

"And how can you be so sure?" The confidence Yuma has on him was pretty starling. Still, it was a pretty nice feeling.

"I just know." The ducks were quacking near them, eating the crumbs that they throw. Of course, she wouldn't tell him that she and Kyoko were spying on him earlier even though she itched to see his face if he ever found out.

A moment of silence passed between the two, the only sound that can be heard were the quacks of the ducks.

"Are… you excited going back to school?" Steve have never really considered what Yuma and Kyoko felt about going school. It was him, and his desire for them to have a future, that made him decide to ask Professor Charles Xavier to take them in, ignoring what the two out-of-school youths felt regarding the matter.

"I don't hate it." How Yuma managed to learn double negatives at such a young age baffles him, but then again, the young girl was pretty mature for her age.

"But do you like it?"

Yuma tried to think of happy memories regarding the idea of school. Before her [Contract], school was her only way of escape from Mama and Papa. It was the only place where Yuma could be happy. She could remember her teacher, Himiko-sensei, the only one before Kyoko _nee-chan,_ who actually gave a damn about Yuma's well-being.

"I like the idea of school." She told him evenly. Seeing as it seemed to weigh heavy on Steve, "I think we'll be fine, Steve."

The two stared at the lively ducks before them in silence.

"What does Kyoko think of going back to school?" Steve asked. The redhead and Sharon were seated on a bench not far from them, both enjoying their lunch – Kyoko was on her fourth serving.

"She…" Yuma frowned, "wants it more than me."

"Really?" Steve asked, taking the chance to glance at the two women afar. Sharon met his gaze and smiled at him before sipping from her Slurpee while Kyoko was busy staring at something far away.

"I would have never even considered it if _onee-chan_ hadn't urged me to try." And really, this Kyoko was starting to behave differently from the very independent Kyoko of Yuma's memory. For one thing, the redhead seem to put a lot more trust on others – on adults – than before. Yuma would not think of Kyoko _nee-chan_ as trusting, even now, but it seemed that this Kyoko was more… ready to let others in. This _onee-chan_ has a lot more faith in others than before.

Steve contemplated what the young girl told him. One of the many things he's always wanted to ask about the two kids was about their parents.

What had happened to them?

He doesn't want to jump into conclusions, but he has this notion in his head that their parents are… no longer in this world. Call him old-fashioned, but he was a firm believer that no parent could stomach leaving their children to fend for themselves.

He doesn't want Kyoko and Yuma to have the same kind of harsh life Steve had when he was growing up. His father died in the First World War, while his mother died from a once-incurable illness, leaving him an orphan to an unforgiving life. Yes, maybe the kind of life that he had was just as harsh, if not harsher, as the kind of life the two girls have had before they met him, but life was easier back then. While he didn't doubt about the two girls' resilience when it came to survival, Steve also was able to turn his life around because he had luck and a reliable friend on his side. Two things that, he observed, were very scarce in the current times.

These two girls might say that having each other was enough, but Steve has also been plagued with similar thoughts in his childhood. He has been there; wanting to be independent because no one would help weak and pathetic you. Then, Steve met James. Together, they dreamed of becoming more, dreamed of having a better life, a better future.

James had encouraged him to study, because finishing one's education is the best weapon they could have against the harsh reality of life. Steve knew he can never be like his great friend, but he could follow his friend's footsteps – he could try and be a helpful guide towards a good future to these girls. That was why Steve was very adamant about being the adult in Kyoko and Yuma's lives, because no matter how much the two girls might deny it, they desperately yearn for someone other than themselves to depend on – he knows this because that's what he felt back then. And yes, maybe he's assuming that they want him in their lives, but the care he feels for them both was genuine and not forced. He would never abandon them. Never.

He'd be in the dark with regards to raising two children by his own, because he's never really had a proper template to base his parenting style, but for their sake, he would persevere. He would make mistakes, and he hopes it would not be often, but he will stand by them no matter what. They might try to run, but he would always chase after them because he vows to be there for the two girls.

"Steve?"

He looked at the young green-haired girl.

"Did you like the bento I made for you?"

* * *

><p>At the emergence of Homulilly (<em>Erste <em>form), Thanos can only look at the girl seated in front of him.

"Who are you?" It wasn't fear that made him ask but fascination. Fascination and curiosity; like that of a researcher to his guinea pig. This girl possess sufficiently abundant powers to combat him and his [Infinity Gem]. The [Space Gem] isn't able to break free from [Bounded Field] that he's been imprisoned and the [Time Gem] was rendered obsolete because this [Demon] seemed to have control over time as well. A type of control that would make Homulilly's powers on par to that of an [Infinity Gem].

"I am an existence known as [Evil], mister ruler." Homulilly might just be in her first form, but her presence was more than enough to return the tide of the invasion back into its delicate stalemate. A school of Lillas were now guarding the Earth's atmosphere, expelling forth indestructible nuts to the unfortunate space vessel who come within their range of fire. The Incubator race's morale has also increased thanks to the appearance of the [Witch].

"An existence who aims to disrupt providence by acting as an agitator of the multiverse." Her answer was vague, never really answering the question of the Eternal as to why Homura was able to wield powers outside the capacity and influence of the [Infinity Gems]. "To put it simply, I am capable of becoming the anti-thesis of a being known as a _kami_ or ruler."

It was a bluff, and the only reason why Homura was able to bring the invasion to a stalemate was because Thanos still refuses to participate. As to why she was able to counteract the influence of two of the [Infinity Gems], it's because he doesn't wield all of them yet. Morover, the [Infinity Gems] that he has on him are basically the same as the essences that compose one Homura Akemi. Homura could negate the [Time Gem] because she is the roughest, loosest and the most abstract 'deification' of [Time]. Her [Witch Barrier] is a phenomenon that existed outside the [Laws] of the multiverse because the current multiverse can no longer [Comprehend] what a [Witch Barrier] is thanks to Madoka's [Law of Cycles], as such, the [Space Gem] was rendered useless. The only threat that Homura couldn't handle was the [Power Gem], but since Thanos wouldn't sully himself by participating in the invasion, at least not yet, it wasn't a problem as of the moment.

"_Your_ anti-thesis, should you decide to continue your pursuit to multi-versal dominance." Granted, it is possible to kill Thanos, but the chances of successfully killing him is very, very, very, minutely small. So small, in fact, that Homura would think of the endeavor as a waste of effort and resources.

Thanos could only look at her.

Homura sipped her tea, "Well, shall we continue this?"

Thanos could only huff. Suddenly the advancing invaders stopped. Lottes, Lillas, Luiselottes, and her Lieses stopped their movements as well.


	16. Act 1:5

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **so far, the Rebellion and Avengers (2012) movie

**A/N: **...having watched the Guardians of the Galaxy, and seeing my bias, Groot, I'm thinking of adding them too. That or, maybe the Shi-ar empire cause I really like Lilandra :D still, that'll take quite a lot of time, or in a probable book 2-thiny

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 15<strong>

* * *

><p>"You're observing us, aren't you?" Kyoko sat beside Sharon, now on her <em>fifth<em> chili dog. "Me and Yuma in particular."

If the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent got tensed, she did an incredible job of hiding it. "Natasha did say you were very perceptive."

Kyoko could still remember the threat Steve had promised to Tony Stark after Steve found out about her and Yuma's interrogation. It was the only time Kyoko has seen so much _malice_ emanate from the tall blond.

After finding out about Tony Stark's participation in Kyoko and Yuma's interrogation, the next time the two comrades met, Steve actually accosted the man and was so close to chewing Tony's head off. The look he gave to Tony seemed to have worked because not once has Tony tried to pester the two girls regarding their abilities. Of course, Yuma kept on saying that it was magic, not technology, that they wielded but Tony Stark just wouldn't listen.

When the blond found out that Tony were harassing Yuma and Kyoko even after the interrogation, Steve intervened. Considering how _giddy_ Tony Stark was at seeing, what he called as, 'technology so superior that it blows even Stark Industries out of the water,' Steve putting a leash on Tony's advances could not have been more amazing.

"You are now a ward of a community that S.H.I.E.L.D. is currently thinking of including in their sphere of jurisdiction and influence."

"What do you mean?"

"The magical community. S.H.I.E.L.D. wants to learn more about it. Wants to see if they should also be protected from threats." Sharon summarized roughly.

"And by being near me, you're hoping that I give you a chance to talk to that Doctor Strange guy." Kyoko told her, finishing her food. Stephen Strange _did_ introduce himself as the de facto leader of the so-called magical community, so Kyoko figured that it was natural that they'd be more interested in him than two young girls. The only reason Kyoko could think of as to why S.H.I.E.L.D. is actually taking the effort of observing two kids is their point of mutuality with Doctor Strange: magic.

Sharon actually laughed. "Yeah, you're right."

A moment of silence passed between the two females. It was the type of silence that was shared among acquaintances; nice enough that it didn't make you fidget but awkward enough that it made you lose your words.

"I don't know how to contact him. If that's what you want to ask."

The Slurpee Sharon had was almost empty, "Let's worry about that some other time." She noticed Steve looking over at them and she smiled at him, "I really _did_ come here to help Steve."

"He's an idiot." Sharon heard Kyoko mutter.

"I prefer the term outdated. But it's got its charm, I gotta admit."

"He'll get himself killed one day because of his need to help people." Kyoko told her like a prophet singing a prophecy.

Sharon's answer made Kyoko introspective: "And will you be there? In the case that he'd need someone to save him from himself?"

* * *

><p>"<em>You know, if you're actually gonna help me with whatever it is you think I need help with, then I think I deserve to know your name<em>." Mami wasn't naturally this rude but being polite earlier was met with no response at all with the man in a skull-designed suit.

Currently, the two were on a private airplane towards the United States, no questions asked – or rather, no questions answered. Immediately after leaving the forest, Mami was given a set of papers that detailed her new identity, one Claire Thomas, thanks to this person known as Punisher. She was given a birth certificate, a passport–the works. Even a Facebook and Twitter account that was started three years ago according to the tablet the Punisher guy handed to her.

The imposing man looked at the teenager. Seated opposite of him, in a mannered, respectful stance, one would think it was a pair of a niece and an uncle – if someone was bolder, a father-daughter pair – who were riding a plane ride home. "Frank Castle." He's way in over his head with telling such an important information to the girl, but he figured since the girl was obviously trusting him in letting him drag her from her original life to this crazy one then he could at least offer something so minute as a name.

"_Much better,_ _Castle-san._" The blonde girl smiled warmly, clapping her hands in relief. "_I'm Tomoe Mami._" She introduced herself, slightly bowed her head. She gazed at the tablet and papers scattered in front of her – especially her new birth certificate – "_What do I need these for?_"

Frank Castle, also known as the Punisher, could only sighed as he mentally prepared himself with the bomb he was about to detonate – figuratively of course. He could easily take the life of a person belonging to a crime syndicate, could easily do the most atrocious of acts to terrorists just to get information, heck he'd brutally killed a man using a toothbrush and a plastic comb once and not felt any shred of remorse after that, but telling a young girl – who has her who life ahead of her – that she can no longer be that girl because of unfortunately being seen around him was just so hard for him.

"I'm… not a good person." He told her in English. There, he said it, even though she wouldn't understand it. Yet. "_They saw you with me_."

"_Those Yakuza people?_"

Frank Castle nodded solemnly, "_Yes."_

"_What do they have to do with… whatever it is this is?"_ she asked, doing a circular motion with her forefinger.

"_Because you were seen with me. That's why._"

"_That's what you told me earlier. And what's that got to do with-"_

"_The less you know the safer your life is going to be_," he interrupted.

Mami pursed her lips, shifting her gaze to the scene through the window. "_Well, what can you tell me, then?"_

Frank Castle felt a slight sting with what he was about to say, "_That your life, everything about it, is over."_

But he was wrong. Mami's life ended the day her parents died in that car crash. The life that she had after the unfortunate accident was nothing more than a superficial one. Sure, she had friends at school, but she couldn't afford to be as close to them as she'd like with her line of work as the city's protector. Dating someone was also another luxury she could not afford, and Mami has experienced her share of schoolmates confessing their feelings for her, feelings that (flattered as she was) could never be reciprocated because of her dedication to keeping her city safe. Her relationship with her family, while not really strained, was also something that she found lacking in her life; they had their own families to feed and adding another mouth was something that her relatives couldn't afford even though they wanted to. Those who had the resources and means didn't want to do much with her, so her relatives liquidated her parent's assets, made her the sole inheritor of said assets (with a distant cousin managing her money) while receiving a sufficient sum of money from her relatives – just so they wouldn't be considered irresponsible kin.

Mami supposed it would have been better if she has just died in the car crash. Or maybe if Mami was given more time to think of her [Wish], she would have made her life better for her and her parents but it's not like she regrets choosing to live.

"_Tomoe-san_…" The hard voice of Frank Castle broke her train of thoughts.

The fluffy clouds have lost its novelty some time ago but she still looked out the window, "_So what happens now_?"

Frank Castle looked at her, then out the window as well. "_I'm… you'll be under my care now._"

Mami only nodded. _I suppose this might be a blessing in disguise._ She might never know, but maybe she'd be part of a team in the new city she's going to live in. Maybe they'd befriend her too. Maybe moving to a new city was what she needed.

Her only regret was leaving her city without an official girl taking care of it. Territorial rights were one of the major things that led to [Puella Magi] skirmishes and scuffles. She could only hope it would not be as bad as hers back then.

* * *

><p>The interviews passed by without a hitch; Steve went from interview to interview, Sharon accompanying Steve because of knowing New York like the back of her hand, and the two kids tagging along for the ride.<p>

By 5PM, an exhausted Steve asked what food the two kids would like to eat for dinner.

"Either we order take out, or we eat out." Yuma said with a smile. Sure, just to feel comfortable in his clothes, Steve might have loosened his tie, disheveled his styled hair, and shruggged off his blazer – rolling his long-sleeved button up in the process, but he still looked awesome. Awesome enough that a lot of young women – and a few guys – actually gave him a once-over.

Steve nodded. "So, what are you girls craving tonight?"

Kyoko and Yuma looked at each other before looking at Steve, "Ramen."

"Okay," Steve said. "But I don't know a place that served good ramen." The first time Yuma realized that Steve was helpless in the kitchen, she made him a bowl of ramen. A steaming bowl of ramen that was eaten in less than ten minutes, though Yuma frowned when Steve used a fork instead of chopsticks to eat her dish. He wasn't even loud too.

These days, since Yuma was the master of the kitchen, Steve was getting very proficient with using choptsticks.

"I know a place that served good ramen." Sharon told the trio.

"Is it cheap?" Kyoko asked.

"I think so." Sharon told them unsure.

"Have you actually eaten there?" Yuma asked with a giggle.

"No," Sharon answered truthfully, "but Bobbi keeps on raving about this Japanese restaurant."

Steve adjusted the cuff of his rolled-up sleeve, "But, do you know where it is?"

Sharon brought out her iPhone, "I could google it."

"What's a google?" Steve asked.

Kyoko and Yuma can only palm their heads.

* * *

><p>"Professor Charles Xavier, I am honored to meet you."<p>

He had been reading the essays of his students from his philosophy class when he appeared out of nowhere. To be more precise, he appeared after a flash of yellow light. Of course, there was no surprise from the man appearing out of nowhere – since he knows of a certain blue-skinned teleporter who could do the same – but what did surprise him is that this man was dressed in…

"Are you wearing a cape?" he asked, putting his stack of papers down. Telepathically, he quelled Jean Grey's worried queries about this man's presence with a simple 'I'm fine.' Oh how the redhead's power have grown, having sensed of a new appearance from such a distance. "I mean, I'm sorry. I was just surprised with your sudden appearance."

The man simply laughed heartily, "My apologies. I would have asked for an appointment, but then no one among your staff would have taken me seriously with my… choice of clothing."

"Indeed?"

"Let's start over, shall we?" He had dark hair with a dash of white hair from him temples, he wore a blue shirt with a very distinct design, dark pants, yellow gloves and sash, an outlandish red cloak, some orb thing and a medallion that had an eye on it. "My name is Dr. Stephen Strange. I am a magician and I wish to discuss to you about the lessons you would be teaching to your new transferee students."

To put say that the professor was surprised after that was an understatement. Mutants with extraordinary powers were one thing by itself, but learning of a secretive _magical_ community was definitely something.

* * *

><p>"<em>Itadakimasu<em>!" Yuma and Kyoko yelled when their ramen was served.

It was all authentic - Japanese authentic that is; it wasn't clearly luxurious – which is exactly what ramen is: food for the masses – and the place was sorta cramped – just like an authentic Japanese ramen house. One too many a Japanese restaurant in this city tried to project a feeling luxury, which defeats the whole purpose of serving ramen because ramen is _supposed_ to be cheap and not luxurious.

The owner and head chef of the place was a hardened 40-something Japanese immigrant with an amazing Japanese palette. Upon meeting said person, Kyoko had immediately given her approval even before their food was served.

The quartet sat on a narrow square table, Kyoko sat beside Yuma while Sharon sat beside Steve, with Yuma sitting opposite of the man. The loud slurping sounds echoed around the whole restaurant, which earned a laugh from the Japanese owner. Steve was about to reprimand the two kids' bad table manners when he felt Sharon nudge her arm.

"You're supposed to eat ramen noisily. It's a way of showing respect in Japan."

Steve didn't initially like it one bit, but it's a difference of culture so he got over it when he noticed that other patrons of the restaurant were doing the same.

"So I heard that you're going back to school sometime this month." Sharon said before taking a sip from her can of Japanese-brand beer (also from Bobbi's recommendation).

Yuma chewed and swallowed before nodding, "Yeah. Steve said we'd go to school after we get settled in our new house."

"Are you excited?" Sharon asked before slurping her noodling again.

"I guess I am. I mean I've met the baldie who runs the school and I guess he's a nice person – he even told me that he'll be teaching me and _onee-chan _a class or two." Yuma Chitose, Sharon smiled, the only person in the world who casually called the greatest telepath of the world a 'baldie'.

The green-haired child turned to Steve, who was quietly eating his noodles – can't take the American manners out of him. "I'm more interested in finding out what happened in your interviews."

Kyoko was too busy relishing her bowl of food to actually participate in the conversation.

* * *

><p>"I wish to be an active participant in the two kids' tutelage." Doctor Strange told Professor X.<p>

"And by that you mean?"

"They would also be learning about the arcane arts from me and a few colleagues of mine."

"Why are you so interested in these two girls?" the professor just had to ask.

Stephen Strange summoned a tea set out of thin air. A snap of his fingers later, he was pouring him and the bald man tea. "Just as how you wish to bring out a mutant's full potential, I wish to temper these girls to the best magicians they could be."

"And have you consulted this with Mr. Rogers?"

"I could," the doctor started, "and I will, but I come to you with a proposition: I wish to spearhead a new curriculum in your school." Doctor Strange sipped from his cup, _a magical curriculum_, he sent out telepathically.

"That is," the paraplegic man was at a loss of words, "that is truly an ambitious wish."

"Oh please, all dreams are ambitious. Or rather, there are no such thing as simple dreams."

The quip earned a smile from the man, "Indeed. But I digress, if magic is truly such a wonderful and amazing feat, something that could equal the mutant race's abilities in totality, can you not do it on your own? Can you not build this school on yours in your own? You do have to power to realize that dream without the aid of the mutant race."

The man in the outlandish outfit couldn't help but grin, "I wasn't wrong in choosing you over your best friend."

There was a harsh look that passed in the bald man but it died quickly.

Doctor Strange, however, saw it. "Do not worry, professor, I have not yet – and basing from our conversations thus far – and will never seek Erik's help. I fear that my wish would be warped beyond recognition should I bring this to him."

The professor was still silent.

The doctor took it as his queue to continue, "I come to you specifically for two things: to ask about becoming one of Yuma Chitose and Kyoko Sakura's teachers, and, to ask a few of your students who possess magical potential if they're willing to be part of my magical school."

"Similar to a cross-enrollment?"

"Yes. I merely jest about wanting to add a curriculum in your school, because I have already taken the steps to start _my_ school. What I only need now are students and any advice that you could give."

Strangely, despite the fact that this man had none-too-subtly told him that he'd go to Magneto should he refuse Doctor Strange's proposition, he – as an educator – felt for the man. When the school began, Charles Xavier thought he may have bitten more than he could chew: what does he know about running a school?

Mistakes have happened, and most of them were stains Charles can never clean from his hands, and he didn't want that to happen to this man.

"Though I am still wary about this wish of yours," he clapped his hands, "I'm in." He moved his wheelchair in front of the doctor. Extending a hand, "Though I only ask that I be present in conducting your search for your students among mine."

Doctor Strange stood up and shook his hand.

* * *

><p>The crickets were singing tonight.<p>

Kyoko's room was plain, white walls and simple furniture. Out of habit, she never liked personalizing what's hers. The only thing that mattered to her back then was killing [Wraiths] and eating good food. When you're a [Puella Magi], what's the whole point of settling in a temporary place? When the city's gotten dry from [Wraiths], the only logical thing for someone like Kyoko was to move to a new city. She never understood why Mami's place looked so… so _Mami_ knowing that she'd have to go to other places should her city become dry from threats.

That's the difference between her and Mami; Mami believed that a girl should stay and protect her city until her dying breath even if the city was low on the supply of [Cubes], while Kyoko was already gone when the city has no signs of enemies for three straight days.

Her room was plain, with white walls and simple furniture. It was simple, but also spacious. She liked to leave her windows open, to let the cool air in and to have a nice view outside because it made her feel free. She didn't fear about robbers because she's booby-trapped the entire house with her magic. You learn to protect what is yours when you've been living alone for so long.

Her room was plain, with white walls and simple furniture, and she realizes that she couldn't sleep.

Maybe it's because she was so used to be out at night for hunting [Wraiths] that sleeping at night felt foreign to her. Maybe it's because the thought that she was starting school three days from now made her nervous. Or maybe her many thoughts were bothering her right now that she could not sleep. Either way, Kyoko knows sleep will not come to her even if she tried to force herself to sleep.

The only respite she could think of was, of course, food: there was a chocolate cake in the fridge with her name on it.

Swinging her legs by the edge of her bed, Kyoko decided to forgo sleeping until she's had that cake.

Going out of her room, she chanced to look at Yuma's room. The greenette's room was right beside hers, and was always open. Yuma's room also had white walls but she had placed posters, from Spongebob ones, Phineas'n Ferb ones, some _Mahou Shojou_ posters, and some of her drawings to decorate her otherwise boring walls. Kyoko could only smile at the crude crayon drawing of what appears to be Yuma, Kyoko and Steve behind their new house plastered on Yuma's door. In the picture, Yuma was in between the two, and their smiles where bright and wide.

Poking her head inside, Kyoko saw that Yuma was sound asleep, hugging a stuffed panda as she slept. Seeing Yuma asleep, so content, so happy, and with a full stomach, just made her heart swell. The life of a [Puella Magi] was an unforgiving life filled with hurt and loneliness, and while the future for them was uncertain, Kyoko was always someone who focus solely on the present. Because right now is what mattered to her. Having a roof above their heads, something they could call their own mattered to her right now. Having a fridge filled with yummy food mattered to her right now, and being in this… family… mattered to her right now.

Kyoko supposes that she shouldn't get too attached to this kind of life because what if the [Wraiths] returned? Kyoko might be a selfish girl, but she knows her duties. And her duty, since her bargain with Kyubei, has always been about fighting [Wraiths]. Being with Steve is not a permanent thing because–

Chocolate cake. Focus.

Heading towards the kitchen, Kyoko opened the fridge to bring out the tasty desert. She's never really liked eating cake using cutlery, preferring to eat them with her hands, so she washed her hands before bring out a knife.

Cutting a slice for herself, Kyoko realized that there was someone in the backyard porch. Sneaking a glance, Kyoko realized that it was Steve, seating on the porch's steps. _Does he even sleep_? she thought. Of course, Kyoko found it odd that Steve only slept for two to three hours a day and still function like a normal person.

He doesn't seem to notice her presence, and before, she would have just slipped out unnoticed. But Steve was sort of her person now. Just as how Yuma was hers.

Knowing that Steve was nearby Kyoko grabbed the cake, careful to not let the knife slip from the plate, and walked out of the house and into the porch.

Her appearance made Steve turn his head tensely, but seeing as it was only Kyoko, that tension eased.

"Cake." Kyoko mention taking a seat beside the man. Kyoko thought that maybe, months ago, she would have never shared food to an adult, would have never thought of initiating a conversation with an adult, but here she was, doing both in a house that she was starting to call hers.

Steve looked at her, who was setting the cake between them, "But there's no plates and–"

Kyoko summoned her [Soul Gem] and against her better judgment, because using magic was wasteful, summoned two plates and two forks. She could eat a slice of cake with her hands, but Steve wouldn't really appreciate the lack of manners.

Steve's eyes widened at seeing her [Soul Gem], his mouth turns slack when he saw her summon the plates and forks, but he didn't say anything after that. The crickets' music were louder outside. The red glowing hue of her [Soul Gem] provided all he light they needed, as Kyoko placed a slice of cake on both plates and handed one to Steve.

"Thank you." Steve smiled as he was handed a plate of the desert. "So, you can't sleep?"

Kyoko was looking at the sky, ignoring her slice of cake – another first. "Yes."

"Me too."

For a while, neither Kyoko nor Steve said anything. The crickets sang for them, painting a picture of peace and tranquilness. It is only when Kyoko realizes that she has yet to eat her cake that the drowning song of the crickets dulled.

"We're family, aren't we?" Steve asked.

It was the first time Kyoko looked at Steve, "What kind of question is that?"

Steve didn't say a thing.

Kyoko finishes her cake and helps herself to another slice, "We need to be a family."

"And by that, you mean?" It was Steve's turn to be baffled.

"The only way Yuma would survive this is if we're both there for her." She told him as she stabs her cake.

"And the two of us?" Steve was halfway through with his slice._ What are we to each other?_ He didn't need to say it because the words clung tightly in the air.

Kyoko's answer was was the most candid she's ever been to him, "_We're friends_."

"What's a 'tomodachi'?" Steve asked.

Kyoko pretended not to hear by going back inside the kitchen to pour herself and Steve a glass of cold milk.

Returning to the porch, Kyoko and Steve continued eating cake and sipping milk until an hour later when Kyoko finally felt the pangs of sleepiness. The two silently but not awkwardly came back inside the house to finally sleep.


	17. Stasimon: The Stationary Song 1

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **so far, the Rebellion and Avengers (2012) movie

**A/N: **...I have this fantasy in my head that Kyoko would be part of an x-men team. And the quick start of Iron Man 3. Italicized conversations is in Japanese.

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 16<strong>

* * *

><p>There were two shadows who sat beside each other on a bus bench two blocks away from Steve Roger's apartment. To the insignificant being, the two shadows would not have gathered any attention. To the mortal eye, they were only truly shadows but not bothersome shadows because they would somehow think nothing or forget that they were there in the first place. To a fledging magician, they would sense something off about these shadows, but wouldn't really get anywhere beyond seeing two shadows. To a magus of sufficient knowledge, power and experience – say a Sorcerer Supreme – they would see two individuals – a man and a woman – of eccentric clothing sitting quietly on said bus bench.<p>

"_Any sufficiently advanced__ technology __is indistinguishable from__ magic_." The man said, breaking the cool silence. He had dark hair, hardened features and weary but strong hands full of callouses. In his calloused fingers were ten, glimmering rings. "Arthur C. Clarke." The man was dressed in robes not unlike that of a kung-fu gi.

The woman was a beauty. A deadly type of beauty who used everything in her possession, capacity and power to get what she wants. With her voluminous blonde tresses, her near-perfect curves and intoxicating predatory facial features, she is someone not of this world. Literally. "I am not familiar of the quotation."

The man chuckled, "I highly recommend reading his works. They prove to be rather insightful."

"Oh?" Her voice, through her expertise in seduction, was also laced with passive magic – capable of grabbing the undivided attention of the unsuspecting person.

"Yes."

He brought out a tablet from out of thin air, which piqued the interest of the woman beside him. He set the gadget to what it was supposed to do and handed it to her.

The woman used dainty hands to hold the gadget, "What is this?"

The man tapped the screen and showed the scene of a house. Steve Roger's apartment. "This is the house radiating all that magical energy that you could sense."

Indeed, for truly, the two got sidetracked here because of the strong pull of a definitely exotic kind of magic. The kind that made them _need_ to investigate where this magical source was coming from. They couldn't get any nearer because of not only risking getting noticed by the house's magical tenant but also because of the current Sorcerer Supreme's magical ward around the neighborhood.

"It interests me that Stephen Strange would actually ward a house." Doctor Strange only did that to people in need of protection. He only did something as voluntarily offering his services if they were important enough to be protected, like a prophesized person. "Who is the boarder of the place?" Granted, Stephen Strange was used to warding homes from people like this woman.

"Two kids and a hero from the recent Chitauri invasion." Came his smug reply.

"Very peculiar." Nodded the woman.

"So what is it that the Mandarin would want from me?" The woman asked handing the tablet back to him. "I do not think you are someone who – how do the Midgardiands say it? – stalks people."

The Mandarin made the tablet vanish with a snap of his fingers, "It has come to my… knowledge that the Dark Elves has began to move."

The quip earned a condescending chuckle from the woman, "The Dark Elves are indefinitely indisposed. Odin Borson _is_ a frightening individual, after all."

"And yet they move behind the shadows." He raised his left hand, making the ring from his ring finger glow brighter.

It was a subtly feeling that touched her psyche. Then, in her mind came the sight of the weakening the prison of the Dark Elves. She used her magical experience to see the truth behind the lie and found vision to be genuine.

"So they move." the woman muttered. "What do I have to do in all this?"

The Mandarin grinned, "Simple: I want you to move with them in the shadows. Further weaken their prison until they can break free by themselves."

"So you are asking me to commit treason to my land's lord?" The blonde woman countered.

"As if you haven't done already." He fired back, his grin telling her that she'd been outsmarted.

"Point taken." She crossed her arms, "What do _I_ get in return?"

"If all goes well?" His voice taunting but full of sweetness, "Ownership of the realm Asgard. And all of its resources."

The woman's jaw dropped. "Including all of its treasures? Even Odin's rare [Artefacts]?"

"After I've observed and studied them, yes."

It was still too good to be true. "I am still not convinced. Who are you and how are you capable of overthrowing us Asgardians?"

"The [Aether] is about to show its face." He told her, shocking her even more, "And when it does, I will be there to harness its power, away from Odin and away from the Dark Elves, for myself. And yourself, should you wish to aid me in my plan."

She had to clarify what he was saying, "Let the Dark Elves fight the Asgardians, and whoever is the victor will be struck down by the Aether: that is your plan?"

"So, are you in Miss. Enchantress?"

She didn't think twice. "I am in."

"Perfect." He grinned and snapped his fingers, opening a portal in front of them.

"Before we start," the Enchantress started, "are you aware that someone is using your name?"

"The drunkard actor and that Aldrick Killian? Yes. I am aware." He scoffed, "Imitation is the best form of flattery I suppose."

The Enchantress chuckled, "Even has an organization called the 'Ten Rings.' Flattery indeed."

* * *

><p>Mami followed Frank into one of the high-end apartment buildings of New York City. After landing, she was ushered by the man into a black sedan where they drove for a while until they reached their destination.<p>

On the way to her new home, Frank and she decided to play the part of an uncle and a niece respectively. They kept their stories simple; Frank was given custody of Mami after the unfortunate accident of her parents. Seeing how Mami could pass as an American, despite not knowing how to speak English, it was pretty believable–and not that far from the truth.

"_You will have to learn English_," Frank told her as they drove in the dark streets of the city. It was night time by the time they in the city. Mami was seated on the passenger seat as Frank took the steering wheel. "_Don't worry for I've already hired you tutors._"

The apartment they stayed in was located on the seventh floor of the building and her spacious bedroom had a nice view of Central Park. Mami was not given time to prepare her things for this move, and Frank didn't seem to care that her material possessions were still in Japan. She was upset that she has nothing to call her own. Thinking of remedying her problem, but not wanting to come off as demanding and bratty, Mami thought of settling this like mature people.

Exiting her room, Mami went to the living room to find Frank nursing a glass of red wine, his gaze very distant as he look out of the wide window.

Mami should have left but Frank has already noticed her, "_Have you settled in yet?_"

"_I have," _she said_, "but all my things are still in Japan."_

Frank was silent. He has taken off his skull suit and was wearing sweatpants and a grey shirt, he was barefoot too. "_Did you leave something of importance there_?"

Her parents' pictures would come to mind, but if she were to start this new life, Mami knew she has to bury those memories deep into her heart. She'd still remember them for they were her parents after all, but that chapter of her life was over. The Mami Tomoe of her parents died alongside them in that car crash.

"_No, not really._" was her reply.

"_Is there anything you need?_"

Mami shifted uneasily, she had checked her bathroom earlier and there was something missing there that she needed.

"_Tampons._"

* * *

><p>"<em>There's no uniform<em>?" Yuma asked as exited the bathroom with Kyoko.

The two girls, due to a combination of dread, excitement and nervousness, woke up two hours before school would start. The Xavier Institute for Higher Learning was a school that was within reasonable walking distance. It was close enough to be considered "near enough to walk there" but far enough that it took a good ten to fifteen minutes to get there.

"_Yes_." Kyoko answered exasperatedly. Yuma was actually pretty excited of being able to wear a uniform again, only to be crushed when she found out that the school never enforced the wearing of uniforms.

"_And I was so excited to wear a sailor uniform too_." Yuma pouted as Kyoko helped her dry her green hair.

The two females quickly got dressed, Yuma wearing a plain white shirt paired with a printed brown skirt and white stockings while Kyoko wore shorts with a black shirt underneath her favorite long-sleeved jacket. Yuma was fixing her hair into a bun, watching Kyoko tie her hair with her ribbon, when she asked, "_I wonder what school's like_?"

"_Yeah_." Kyoko agreed, looking at her reflection as she finished with her hair.

"_I hope I make lots of friends_."

Yuma's positivity was contagious. "_C'mon, let's go to the kitchen to eat breakfast. I'm starving_."

"_What do you want for breakfast, onee-chan?_" The younger one asked as she tied her shoelaces.

Kyoko slipped on her black boots before turning to Yuma, "_Let's eat cereal._"

Yuma nodded, "_I'm thinking of making a bento box for lunch._"

The two hurriedly went to the kitchen where they found Steve, an early riser.

"Morning Steve!" Yuma greeted as she took a seat on their circular dining table. Kyoko nodded to the man as she took the seat beside Yuma.

"So what're we having?" the young man asked.

"Just cereal." Yuma answered chirpily. Steve turned to Kyoko, who said, "What she said."

Steve beamed at them before reaching for the pantry to bring out their breakfast. Usually, Yuma was the one who served breakfast, lunch and dinner – since Steve was hopeless and since Kyoko would much rather order take-outs – but since today was the girls' first day of school, Steve thought it would be nice if he took care of breakfast for once.

"Guess what?" Steve said, taking a seat in front of the two. Yuma looked at the man while Kyoko merely tilted her head, "I got a phone call last night."

"Really?" the greenette was pouring milk over her cereal. "Who called?"

"Someone wants to hire me!"

"That's great Steve! I'm so happy for you." Yuma told him.

Kyoko was nodding her approval. "Who's hiring you?"

"This publishing company near the city." Granted, Steve was to become an office drone, but it's a better alternative from not doing anything. "I start next week."

The three then ate in companionable silence. And to think, a few months ago, eating together on a cramped table would have been awkward for the three of them. Staying in the house was good for the three of them; Kyoko was starting to break down her walls to adults – well, to just Steve, but it's still a huge leap from before, Yuma was finally able to live a relatively normal childhood, and Steve's humanity was returning with each passing day with the two kids.

* * *

><p>"This is not a school." Steve muttered under his breath as they entered the huge mansion. He was accompanying Kyoko and Yuma on their first day in school, walking with them after they've eaten breakfast. To say he was surprised when he entered the school grounds was an understatement because not only was the mansion bigger than what he expected, the <em>acres<em> of land that surrounded the school were (according to the pamphlet Professor X had given him) also part of the school. Then, there's also the school facilities. Up-to-date, well-maintained facilities. It was like this was a _super_ elite school.

He also took notice of the students around the school. Children of varying ages, skin color (one had a tail with blue skin) and appearances mingled with each other. Out of the corner of his eye, there was a teenage man talking seriously with what appears to be a seven-year-old boy. Even more amazing was how some of the kids were exhibiting powers Steve could only see in comic books – like how a kid was using his powers to make an ice sculpture.

"You must be Mr. Rogers…" The voice came from behind, from a female.

Steve turned around and saw a red head in a blue business suit. "I am Jean Grey, a member of the school's faculty." She extended a hand and Steve took it and shook it firmly twice.

She smiled at him then to the two girls, "And you must be Kyoko and Yuma. The Professor gave us the heads up earlier."

"What did baldie tell you?" Yuma asked, adjusting her backpack behind her.

Jean Grey raised her head back and laughed. "Nothing much. He just told us that two special kids will be transferring to our school."

"Did he tell you about our magic?" Yuma asked.

"More than that." Came another voice, this time from a man. Kyoko, Steve and Yuma turned around and saw…

"Doctor Strange? What are you doing here?"

* * *

><p>"Are you sure this is safe for them?" Steve was in a room full of mutants and this magician guy inside the command room of the Danger Room.<p>

"In order for us to gauge just what we need to specifically teach these two kids, we need to know just how capable they are." Doctor Strange said as floated one feet above the air. The levitating thing surprised Steve, but the other people around them didn't find it fascinating.

With the Steve and Doctor Strange were Professor X, Jean Grey, a burly man named Logan, a sophisticated-looking woman with white hair named Ororo, a visor-wearing man named Scott, a silent muscular man named Piotr, a lithe-looking girl called Kitty, and two distinct mutants – Kurt and Hank. They were the teachers and the most senior students of the school. And they all came here because they were curious about how magic worked and wanted to see it being practiced first-hand.

Steve tried to put a stop at the girls being subjected to this experiment, but Yuma was the one who called the shot. "We're [Magical Girls], Steve. We spread hope and love to everyone. It's okay for them to watch."

The blue-furred man with feline features named Hank was typing on the console. "Let us start with _Level One_."

Below, Steve could see from Yuma and Kyoko freeze when something from the ground opened.

* * *

><p>Kyoko and Yuma were wearing a tight suit that made Kyoko feel lacking. She's not like Mami with her developed mammary glands but seeing herself in the suit made her feel… like a kid.<p>

Doctor Strange had told her group that they are planning on teaching the two girls control their powers. Specifically on the magical aspect. Oh, they were given subjects to learn that was in conjunction with the educational standards of the country, but since they were going into a special school that catered to special individuals, then they should be subjected to the same extracurricular activities.

Kyoko knew they she did not need to be taught about controlling her magical powers. She believed that she never needed to learn about control because Kyoko has been on her own for a long time, only using her magic when she absolutely needed to, but for the sake of Yuma - who needed her education - she would be willing to be subjected to this school's extracurricular activities.

And in this school, extracurricular activities meant time spent in the Danger Room.

Kyoko was adjusting the cuff of her sleeve when she felt the earth shake. Part of the metal floors opened and a robotic drone a couple of feet taller than them emerged. It moved slowly and awkwardly at them. The drone had a bulky feel on it, like a mix between a small refrigerator and Wall-E but none of the fictional character's cuteness.

A buzzing sound made the two young girls look up. "Your first objective is to incapacitate or defeat this enemy using your powers," said the voice of one Hank McCoy.

Yuma looked over at Kyoko. She knew all about Kyoko's reluctance to use their powers liberally, even on those times when she and Kyoko hunted for [Wraiths], but Kyoko's response shocked the greenette.

"Can we suit up?" Kyoko yelled to one of the cameras focused on them.

"Yes" came from the speaker console. This time from Doctor Strange.

* * *

><p>"What does 'suit up' mean?" Ororo, the white-haired woman, asked.<p>

Doctor Strange only smiled, snapping his fingers. Suddenly, another person appeared inside the room. She had white hair too, but shorter than Ororo's. She was Clea, Doctor Strange's apprentice.

"Clea," Stephen said, crossing his legs in midair, "now would be a good time for you to observe an exotic form of magic."

"What type of magic do they practice?" Clea asked.

Suddenly, both girls were enveloped in bright light: Kyoko with red light and Yuma with green.

"That, I do not know."

Kyoko was once again wearing her costume, her spear pointed at the robot drone. Yuma was also suited up, her mace-like staff in her hands.

"So, they changed clothes and brought out weapons, big deal." Logan gruffly said, crossing his arms. "It's not like they could use them."

But it is a big deal, Steve thought, not just because they could use these weapons, but because they were good at it.

To one Hank McCoy, it was also a big deal too because after receiving word from the Professor as well as from Tony Stark that these kids were capable of masking surveillance technology, even those that belong to STARK Industries, Tony and Hank had worked together in order to counteract whatever it was that messed with the video and audio feed. Seeing that video feed didn't show two black blobs and hearing these two girls call out to them was a definite victory for him.

In the screen, Yuma was the one who engaged with the enemy. She used her staff, and with a wobbly start, she smashed the cat paw end of her mace on the enemy. Reducing the enemy into flattened trash.

Scott let out a low whistle.

"Let us try _Level Two_." Hank said after reviewing the footage.

* * *

><p>They were now on <em>Level Seven<em>. At least that was the last thing Kyoko heard from the speakers. On the first three levels, Yuma volunteered to be the one took care of the foes. On the fourth one, Kyoko had to chip in by throwing her spear because they introduced flying robot enemies.

Now it was a mixture of flying and land drones capable of melee attacks, and flying ones capable of shooting lasers. The laser beam wasn't harmful but the camera was able to pick up if they'd get hit. And getting hit three times would count as a strike-out. Which means that the test would be over.

Yuma and Kyoko worked in tandem. The younger girl used her staff to produce a controlled earthquake on the ground enemies. With the robots temporarily incapacitated, Kyoko ran as quick as lightning and turned the enemies into scrap.

Yuma watched as Kyoko used one of her flashier moves, and wondered what had changed about Kyoko's views about expending too much of their magic. Finding that she was left with a blank, Yuma decided to just ask the redhead.

Onee-chan,_ is something the matter? _Yuma asked telepathically.

Kyoko didn't pause on her onslaught, _What do you mean_?

_You're using a lot of magic_, 'and I've never seen you do that before,' Yuma wanted to add but didn't.

Kyoko elongated her spear, enough to pierce a nearby drone midair, _They wanted a show, so let's give them one_.

Yuma merely tilted her head. 'I can never seem to know what you're thinking, _onee-chan_.'

* * *

><p>"You gotta admit that that's pretty cool." Kitty said to Logan. Wolverine was still unimpressed with the capabilities of the two kids. Now, all of the ground foes were gone, Kyoko and Yuma were finally able to focus on aerial enemies.<p>

They watched as Kyoko jumped and was about to land on Yuma when Yuma used the blunt end of her staff to hit the older girl's feet. The result ended up with Kyoko hurling like a missile to the air-borne enemies.

"Now, _that_ was stylish." Scott said as he watched Kyoko slice up the robots in the air. His quip was met with an elbow to the gut by Jean.

"Jean? What was that for?"

The redhead gave a glance towards the only non-mutant person in the room. Steve Rogers was sweating bullets with what's happening to his two kids.

* * *

><p>"That takes care of that." Yuma said as the last of the enemies were felled.<p>

"What time is it?" Kyoko asked as she landed beside the younger girl.

"Almost lunch time. Why? Are you hungry, _onee-chan_?"

Before Kyoko could answer, the scenery shifted. From the wide but hollow-looking metallic walls of the Danger Room, the two girls were now in what appears to be a city.

"What's happening, _onee-chan_?" Yuma asked as she neared the older girl. There was no one nearby – actually, no one was present in vicinity. Kyoko never liked using her limited magical resources unless she had too, but she and Yuma had farmed [Cubes] two nights ago when Steve was out like a light so she suppose a little splurge on magic wouldn't hurt.

A runic symbol appeared before her feet, spreading far and wide until it was a good ten feet away from the two girls.

* * *

><p>"A tracking–no, it's a fusion spell." Clea looked at the screen with awe and surprise. "She's combining a tracking spell and a surveillance spell, right? But what school of magic is this? I've never seen this type."<p>

Doctor Strange nodded.

The mutants in the room didn't see the significance of this so Stephen Strange tried to explain, "The short version is what she's doing is a feat only masters like me would be able to do. Wait–"

Hank McCoy was furiously typing in his keyboard again.

"What's happening Hank?" Charles Xavier asked, hovering his seat beside his friend. In the screen, the hologram of the created city was vanishing, melting down like a runny ink getting wet on paper.

"She's…" Hank had his sensors focus on what Kyoko was doing, "Disrupting the hologram feed and…"

Clea looked at Stephen, "She's good."

* * *

><p>With the illusion stripped down bare, they were again back in the Danger Room, with a dozen or so robots (both flying and in the ground) surrounding them.<p>

Stripped of the illusion, no matter how real the illusion might have felt, Kyoko stepped forward, placing a hand on Yuma's shoulder, "I'll take care of this, Yuma."

She extended her spear, broke the bottom half of it into its snake form and used it to grab the nearest flying enemy. She then used the bound robot as a blunt weapon to nearby enemies. Like an expert fisherman casting of his fishing hook to the water, Kyoko swung the make-shift ball held by chains around while using the bladed tip to slash enemies that got too near.

Yuma didn't stand idly by, though. While Kyoko fought, Yuma was busy using pointing her staff towards Kyoko.

To those observing the robot slaughter, they would see her unique magical circle enveloping Kyoko with a green outline.

* * *

><p>"Yuma is a support type," Clea summarized as she looked at the screen that showed Yuma. Her panda-carrot-star magical circle glowed beneath Yuma's feet as the girl continued to cast spell after spell that increased the fighting abilities of Kyoko. "Do you really think she's capable of [Witchcraft]?"<p>

"Agatha Harkness personally contacted me saying she wanted tutor one of them. Kyoko feels like a bad compatibility with it, so we're left with Yuma." Stephen said, his eyes never leaving the screen.

The mutants were all speechless at the proficiency and grace these two kids seemed to possess in combat. Even Logan was starting to approve of their abilities.

"Kyoko, on the other hand is a…debuff-melee type. Right?" Kitty said, getting the unwelcoming attention of the much older people in the room. "I play a lot of video games." she defended.

* * *

><p>"So, how did we do?" Kyoko asked as exited the Danger Room with Yuma following behind her. When the communication line told her that the experiment was over, the two girls let out a sigh of relief. But not because of being exhausted or anything, they were hungry and it is lunch time.<p>

"Better than we anticipated." Doctor Strange told her.

Kyoko cancelled her transformation, reverting her clothes back into the jumpsuit they have been forced to wear in the exercise "So, does that mean we get to eat lunch now?"

Doctor Strange could only tilt his head. "I suppose."

* * *

><p>"C'mon Steve, it wasn't that bad. No one got hurt." Yuma tried to soothe the still aggravated Steve Rogers. Currently, the three of them sat together in a table in the school's cafeteria. Students around them had initially eyed them with curiosity since Jean Grey had talked to them a minute before but now they were left alone.<p>

"Still, that wouldn't stop me from worry about your safety." Steve was eating a burrito while Yuma ate the _bento_ that she's prepared. Kyoko didn't participate in the conversation, she never did whenever they ate, but there was something about the place that made her pause. She sensed something was off. However, since the presence doesn't feel harmful or dangerous, she let it be. The food was good, and as long as Yuma got to go to school and learn, she'd keep her guard up at all times and let it be.

* * *

><p>Stephen Strange had patched up all the drones the two kids had destroyed in the experiment. Knowing how expensive one drone is, it was the least he could do. Also, it doesn't hurt that it gave him plus points to the mutants there. Hank McCoy, in particular, has gone from sour and grumbling to happy and cooing when Stephen was done repairing the drones.<p>

"So," Professor X started, "how did the two kids fare in the exam?"

"They are everything I expected." Stephen told him, "And more."

"And by that, you mean?" Charles asked.

"They are a special kind among the special kind." Doctor Strange said vaguely.

"Huh?" one of the teachers asked.

"It's of no concern right now." Stephen swept his hand in a dismissive motion. He then turned to the bald man, "Do you mind if we prepare for conducting the magical aptitude test for your students now?"

Professor X looked at the man, "I wouldn't want to miss it."

Stephen nodded, turned to Clea, before snapping his fingers as they vanished out of the room. "If you'll excuse us, we need to prepare."

"Kurt's teleportation's cooler." Kitty asked as she walked over to Hank, who was checking the wiring of the repaired robots.

* * *

><p>Later that afternoon, after an uneventful day of learning the girls' classrooms, meeting more teachers and students, and checking out more of the place, the three were exhausted. In school, Kyoko had managed to connect (because Steve isn't sure if 'befriend' is the appropriate word here) with a student named Megan. A girl with pink hair, pointy ears and, Steve isn't joking, rainbow-colored butterfly wings.<p>

Steve also seemed to have earned an uneasy and tense friendship with one of the instructors there, a man named Logan. A man who inhaled his cigars like there was no tomorrow. They actually met after Steve tried to reprimand the man because he was smoking on school grounds.

What followed after that was a brief… surge of testosterone that ended with the two men staring at each other eye to eye.

Anyway, when the three arrived in their modest home, chatting about what they'd want for dinner, the three were surprised to find a car parked in front of their house.

Kyoko wasn't worried about burglars since she trusted her magic and her traps, but Steve on the other hand started to frown.

Of course, only Kyoko knew about the wards she had placed in their new house. She figured Steve wouldn't like finding out that chains would appear and immediately bind anyone Kyoko's magic wouldn't recognize.

Fortunately, the visitors had the good sense of waiting for them in the car.

"Steve!" a redhead came out from the car, looking a little strung-up, and worse for wear.

"Pepper?" Steve asked, doing a once-over at Tony Stark's assistant. "Why are you here? And what happened to you?"

Pepper was a little out of it too, "It's Tony. Something's happened to Tony."


	18. Act 2: It is Chains I Desire to Destroy

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **so far, the Rebellion, Avengers (2012) and Iron Man 3 movie

**A/N: **...I've been reading the suzune magica spinoff. This is the part where I realize that the characters I've so far introduced in my fic had a lot of resources that could basically make the Iron Man 3 plotline obsolete. And the only way to counter this is to sorta depower them. Here's why I need to depower them: Cerebro could look for anyone in the planet (though does the Iron Man helmet work the same as Magneto's helmet?). If, for some other reason, Cerebro wouldn't work, I'm pretty sure Doctor Strange had a few tricks up his sleeve to help them. Also, it is my firm belief that Captain America's super human strength is greater than an Extremis-powered individual. Had S.H.I.E.L.D. intervened on Killian's plans, I really think all they had to do was send Blackwidow/Hawkeye or Mockingbird/Hawkeye over them to take care of them. Lastly, I'm thinking of redeeming Gavin's character in the movie. In the comics, I didn't really like Coldblood but in the movie, I kinda get the feeling he and most of the Extremis grunts could be redeemed. Anyway, I'm not entirely sure I would redeem him, just telling you guys in the hopes that you'll give an output. Italicized conversations is in Japanese.

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER 17<strong>

* * *

><p>"You girls order pizza while Miss Potts, her companion and I would go into the kitchen." The two girls nodded silently before rushing straight for their rooms. Steve kept a calming hand over Pepper's shoulder as he led her and her companion into the kitchen. A moment later, the soft footsteps of the girls and the TV being opened signaled that they were in the living room now.<p>

With Kyoko and Yuma in the living room watching cartoons, Steve ushered Pepper and someone else in the kitchen. Yuma popped in earlier, going over to the stove to boil water on a kettle. When Steve asked, she only said one thing: hot chocolate.

Virginia "Pepper" Potts was nursing a mug of hot chocolate. Steve, Yuma and a grumbling Kyoko had let her and her companion inside the house. Pepper was distressed enough that when asked about what happened to Tony, all she answered was a bunch of gibberish phrases that doesn't make sense.

"Thank you for taking me and Pepper in." The other person was another woman named Maya Hansen. She had long dark hair as opposed to Pepper's short strawberry blonde tresses. She was beat-up too, but not as distraught as the head of STARK Industries. "Everything was happening so fast and we had nowhere else to go."

Steve was running his finger along the ring of his teacup's mouth, "Pepper, Miss Hansen, can you tell me what happened?"

After making the hot chocolate, Yuma was then asked by Steve to go back into the living room. This was a pretty serious situation, judging by cuts and bruises the two women had, and Steve wouldn't want to drag the two children in it. In fact, when Yuma had this look in her eye that told him that she was just about to use her magic to heal the injured guests, Kyoko _and _Steve discouraged her with a harsh look.

"Tony's missing." Pepper told him after she settled down enough. She then told us about the attack on Tony's mansion a few hours ago, stories about bombings, the Mandarin, and Pepper's own guesses about the situation.

The more Pepper talked, it was as if the less distraught she's becoming. To finally be able to lift the heavy burden of carrying the weight of what's happening right now did a good deal to Pepper. "But I want Tony found." Pepper took a few calming breaths, before sipping her drink, "I need to know if he's okay."

Steve was worried too about Tony. He was still a comrade despite what he did to his two girls. "Have you contacted S.H.I.E.L.D. yet?"

Maya Hansen sat straighter, which Steve noticed and noted, but Pepper was solely his focus right now. "Not yet. Tony wanted me in one of his safe houses, but after what he did – calling the Mandarin out – I thought it best to not go on the safehouse he has chosen for me."

Which was a smart choice in his honest opinion. If Tony has compromised himself, then it be best if Pepper chose where she'd hide. If Steve was living by himself, he would have had no qualms about letting Pepper stay in his place, but he was with Kyoko and Yuma and inviting Pepper in his home was inviting trouble, trouble that he did not doubt would affect the two kids.

"I'll help you," Steve told her. Still, he wouldn't deny help to those in need. He just have to ask someone to take care of the two kids. Does S.H.I.E.L.D. offer babysitting services? Or could he just drop of Kyoko and Yuma at the Xavier Institute for a couple of days until the situation would resolved?

The buzz of the doorbell broke the silence that fell over them.

"Pizza's here!"

* * *

><p>The Earth of her timeline has been compromised. Homura knew Thanos would be back for her. Judging by his character, the insane Eternal was someone who did not take defeat well.<p>

But first, she sent one of her Clara Dolls out to the [-indescribable-] with a message that implicated Thanos as the one who was collecting the [Infinity Gems].

Houmra figured it would be best for her to scatter, believing that Thanos would be back for her should he collect at least another [Infinity Gem]. But where could she go? Does she go to a new timeline? On a different planet? On a different dimension? Surely the powerful beings across the different universes would sense her and Madoka should she decide on this plan.

* * *

><p>Mami's first day in a new country was both filled with a mixture of awe, curiosity and anxiety. Her first morning in the city was something she would have never expected. Sharing a breakfast with someone even though he was essentially a stranger was a refreshing experience. After what happened to her parents and living by herself, to know that someone was with you when you wake up in the morning was a very nice feeling.<p>

The day after breakfast was filled with shopping for necessities. Also known as clothes. Frank was pulling out all the stops with the spending too: Mami got to choose clothes from the upper side of town. On Frank's insistence, Mami was to buy designer clothes that Mami would have originally only admired on displays. Which, in Frank's opinion, would make sense because she's currently staying in the posh side of town and if she and Frank were to sell their cover to everyone, then have to look the part.

It also does help that Frank wasn't putting any limit to her spending AND seemed to be incapable of running out of funds. At first, Mami was a little overwhelmed by the prices for each piece of clothing that she bought – Mami was economically secure by herself in Japan, but these prices were simply ridiculous – so much so that on more than one occasion has she suggested that they only just buy from a department store or a thrift shop. Frank wouldn't hear none of it, firmly putting his hand that he was willing to spend money on and for her.

She would chalk it off to feeling guilty with what he did to her, but she knew it would be futile to argue and had relented after her fifth time.

Granted, she didn't buy the clothes that she thought were ones that she'd wear once or twice, living by herself had taught her that practicality would go a long way. Cuteness, stylishness and sensibleness were the morals she held when it came to clothes.

During lunch, Frank and she ate in an Italian restaurant. Her first legitimate Italian meatball spaghetti made by a legitimate Italian chef was definitely an experience she wouldn't forget soon. Mami also got to taste Frank's risotto, which also tasted amazing.

After that, she and Frank resumed buying her some more clothes. Mami was smart enough to not ask how he was paying all these, but she did see Frank use credit cards.

At the end of the day, she and Frank Castle returned to their apartment carrying enough shopping bags whose total cost would be enough to put three siblings in college, in her opinion. It still bothered her of how expensive her clothes cost, but she didn't say it because Frank was starting to get pissed at her for voicing it out.

Throughout the day, Mami tried to pry more information about her new… roommate but Frank was very tight-lipped about his past, but she did learn a few things. Like how Frank was very fluent in many languages that include Italian, French (when they met the owner of this French shop), English and Japanese. Frank was also someone who was very vocal about his tastes; there were times when Frank would put a stop to a piece of clothing that she wanted to buy, and that time when he bought her a phone? When Frank brought out the topic of Mami getting a phone, Mami was fine with a cheap, reliable one but Frank goes out and hands her an iPhone.

In Mami's eyes, he was definitely trying to spoil her. Through his insistence, Mami accepted the new gadget and went to shop for shoes.

In her room, Mami laid out her new clothes; at least a dozen shirts, some sweaters and cardigans, half a dozen jeans, a couple of shorts and skirts, enough socks and underwear to fill a drawer, a dozen pairs of shoes, five sets of raingear clothing and three sets of winter clothing. It was enough to almost fill her modest walk-in closet.

Dinner was spent inside their apartment. They ate take-out pizza in the living room watching HBO movies. She got introduced to a pretty… intense TV series known as Game of Thrones. She couldn't understand the story very well because she could not understand what they were saying but she could see that the scenes were definitely... impacting.

Anyway, after she and Frank retired for the night, Mami realized that she has yet to contact the local group of [Puella Magi] that protected the city. She was supposed to let them know that she was now residing in their territory.

Hopefully, with their Kyubei translating for her, they would take her in with opened arms and let her fight with them. According to rumors, the American girls were more civil as compared to their eastern counter parts. The most prominent name she heard from America was a girl named Chelsea, [Chelsea the Nuker] because she liked to finish [Wraiths] with her bazooka and her wind magic, but Chelsea is a native of Baltimore.

Mami showered, changed into her pajamas and then transformed. Being a solo fighter and living alone has taught her that as long as she's transformed, she wouldn't get dirty unless she powered down. Making a copy clone using her ribbon magic, and letting it lie on her bed, Mami left her room using the fire exit. She went into the rooftop, and quickly jumped from building to building in search of [Wraiths].

Chances are, the local girls would have already been engaging the enemies this time of the night.

But something was off. Tonight, she didn't feel any pull from the [Wraiths]. And when she tried to contact Kyubei, the creature did not seem to respond. In all her years as a solo, that has never happened.

Still, she continued her patrol around the city in the hopes of finding Kyubei, fellow girls or [Wraiths]. Whichever appeared first.

Generally, [Puella Magi] left their city's criminal underbelly alone. Magic was a resource they do not have the luxury of using so liberally. Quite a lot of girls had been collected by the [Law of Cycles] too early due to being unaware of this fact. New York City, however, seems to have an exceedingly luscious crime rate that she just _has_ to intervene. More than once has she been forced to help people as best and as quietly as she could in the sidelines, using her ribbons to stop at least three nasty muggings and one girl from almost being raped.

Still, no [Wraiths] appeared, no girls heeded her call, and Kyubei didn't show up.

Looking around, New York City seems to have been attacked by terrorists or something because a lot of the infrastructure around the city is being rebuilt. It was very suspicious because she would have heard about this in the news.

After two hours of patrolling around the city, Mami thought it best to retire for the night, seeing as Kyubei is absent, no enemies were there to combat and she now has someone waiting for her at her new home.

Still, sleep did not came easy to her as confusing thoughts raced in her mind.

Why were there no [Wraiths]? Mami has learned from her time as a solo that places of tragedies were good places to search for [Wraiths]. If this city has suffered a major tragedy then chances are, [Wraiths] would have at least doubled in numbers. She would have understood if there was a very low number of [Wraiths] in the city because at least that could mean that the local girls were good with their jobs, but there were _no_ [Wraiths]. No pulse, no feeling, not even any mark that [Wraiths] even existed here. Something as the absence of [Wraiths] will have garnered suspicion to Kyubei - who should have then informed this to her. It can't be a coincidence that Kyubei seems to be absent too.

Tomorrow, much as she hated it, she'd try the sewers.

* * *

><p>"You don't look like a pizza boy." Kyoko told the person delivering her pizza. He had features that were too rough for someone who earned a living by driving around food. His smile was smirk-ish and did not feel all that inviting and friendly. And he was kinda old and wore shiny leather shoes.<p>

She was just about to hand him a twenty when she realized that the hand that was supposed to get her money was now shoving her aside.

Her body was slammed hard against the wall, twisting her wrist due to the force of the impact. Had she been on-guard, she would not have been so easily tossed like a rag doll. The man, who Kyoko was now really believing to not be a pizza boy, was then already trying to enter her house.

Before the man could invade her property, the traps she had placed around the house kicked in, and her red chains quickly formed and bound the man like a stuffed turkey.

"What's all the commotion?" Steve came out of the kitchen and saw Kyoko on the floor, nursing a swelling hand and a man bound in her red chains.

The man may have caught Kyoko by surprise, but he too was surprised to have found himself bound so effectively.

"_Onee-chan_!" Yuma came out of the living room the moment she head Kyoko's surprised gasp. She then rush for the redhead's aid, summoning her [Soul Gem] as she knelt beside her and saying, "I'll heal you."

Kyoko was not fast enough to decline Yuma's offer because the pain immediately stopped, and the quick swelling has subsided.

Upon seeing the three, the man's eyes glowed red. His skin seemed to emit an orange hue that didn't sit well with the three. The temperature around the man also became hotter, and they could see the chains that have bound him turn reddish in its intense heat.

Steve and Kyoko quickly was alive. The redhead grabbed Yuma's arm and dragged her back into the kitchen, with Steve running right behind them.

"What's going on?" Pepper asked, standing up from her seat.

Kyoko was massaging her newly healed wrist, "Someone just tried to attack me and enter our house."

"And he's starting to glow." Yuma added, rushing to move as far away from the man as possible.

"What do you mean he's starting to glow–"

An explosion rocked the house, deafening everyone's ears. The group should be lucky that all they suffered from were hurting ears and pounding headaches because had Kyoko transformed a second later then they would have also sustained painful injuries. The veteran [Magical Girl] had used her chain magic to create a wall of chains to shield not just the flying debris but also the majority of the blast.

The redhead's magic was already repairing the ringing noises on her ears. Kyoko saw Yuma already in the midst of transforming while Steve tried to check on Ms. Potts and the other lady. After transforming, Yuma was already checking up on the three adults and – against Kyoko's urgings – was using her reserves to heal all of the wounds the three adults have sustained from the explosion.

"Did a bomb go off?" Ms. Potts asked as she was being pulled up by Steve. They were both enveloped by the green glow on Yuma's magic. The other lady was looking hard at Yuma, an indecipherable expression on her face which Kyoko did not like. The lady then turned to her and had eyes that scrutinized her.

From where the explosion came from, Kyoko's newly restored hearing sensed footsteps. Footsteps that she didn't like at all. She quickly brought out her spear and pointed it on the destroyed door frame.

"I don't know what you just did," Kyoko heard Yuma gasp because the same man who was bound earlier was free from her chains, "but I didn't like it." He was missing both of his arms, chunks of his torso was gone, and he was in the process of _re-growing_ his legs. Steam was emitting from his body and his eyes didn't lose that yellow glow.

"Don't come any closer." Steve called out in an authoritative voice. He had grabbed one of the kitchen knives and was holding it in a fighting stance, ready to attack or defend should the man make any sudden move.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." His body has been completely repaired. His arms looked good as new, the missing chunks of flesh were back and he no longer walked limply. The only proof that he had been injured were his burnt and ruined clothes.

Kyoko used her magic again, forming chains that launched towards the intruder, but the man saw it coming and was already on the move. Fortunately, Kyoko has faced more agile and more flexible [Wraiths] that this man simply stood no chance of fully evading her chains.

One of her red manacles had wrapped itself on his left ankle. On instinct, Kyoko used her senses to pull the chain, resulting in the man falling down face first on the floor. Immobilized, the man could only wail in vain as more and more of her chains appeared, securing the man in place.

"Who is doing that?" The enemy screamed as he struggled futilely.

Kyoko would have been relieved at seeing the threat neutralized, but the man started to glow again.

Realizing that the man was the source of the explosion earlier, Kyoko, Yuma and Steve were on the go again. Steve ordered the two kids out of the house through the backdoor before grabbing both Ms. Potts and her companion and following after the two kids.

Kyoko should have noticed the presence when she was running out of the house with Yuma, but the man back in the house did not come here alone. She was too busy focusing on getting away from the exploding man that she failed to notice her magic signaling the presence of another person.

"Hold it right there." Steve had pushed both of the women out of the house when the man made himself known. He looked sleazy and quite honestly villain-like in Kyoko's eyes. He wore a simple business suit and held an annoying sureness that was very evident in the villains of Kyoko's manga selection. Also, he looked like a villain because he had a gun pointed at Steve's head.

* * *

><p>"Is something bothering you, Logan?" Doctor Strange and his assistant had left earlier saying they'll be back to discuss how the he would conduct the magical assessment. A good majority of the school's faculty also left, leaving only Professor X, Hank McCoy and Logan in the room. They were viewing the video of the new transferees, when Professor X had noticed the unreadable expression of the gruff man.<p>

Charles Xavier noticed that Logan has his gaze fixed on one of the screens that showed the two kids eating with Steve Rogers in the cafeteria. "I've met him before."

"Really?" the telepath asked, gently urging Logan to continue.

"I think…" Wolverine started, a hand massaging his temples, "I think I know him. But I'm not sure."

Hank took off his glasses and turned his chair to face Logan. "Are you sure?"

"I recognize his scent. But I… I can't seem to remember." By now Logan was starting to sweat. His eyes were glued shut as he tried and tried to remember thing about the blond man.

In the recesses of his mind, he knew. He knew that he knew this man. That this man knew something about his forgotten past–to a time before the experiments. The blond might even be the key to finally unlock this huge block in his memory. All he had to do was think hard.

Think hard, no matter how painful it felt whenever he tried to do so.

Suddenly, there was a gentle 'touch' in his mind. "Charles?"

The bald man was looking at him in concern, "Do not force it Logan. It will come in time." Charles Xavier gave a reassuring smile, "You could even just ask Steve yourself."

Before Logan could thank the man, Clea interrupted by teleporting inside.

* * *

><p>A gun pointed at Steve's head was no big deal. Kyoko actually found it kind of funny seeing the man go from smug to shock to afraid in just a snap because Steve used a firm hand to grab the wrist of the man and maneuvered the direction of where the gun was pointed back to the new intruder. Judging by the wail of the man, Steve's grip must've hurt a lot.<p>

Quickly, Steve ushered everyone away from the house and into the backyard, which was a good thing because a few seconds more and they would have been engulfed by the explosion that happened inside the house.

Steve, Kyoko, Yuma, Pepper and Pepper's companion only suffered from superficial injuries and were all mostly disoriented from the blast. Any nearer than they were from the focal point of the eruption and they would've sustained major injuries.

Kyoko, personally, found herself face first in the dirt, the concussive force of the blast sending her a few feet away from where she originally was. Her magic was already repairing the damages her body has sustained, and as such, she was one of the first people to stand up among the group.

The new intruder was also blown away, hurling a few feet away from them, but he was already trying to stand up.

"Enough of this!" came the strained voice of the exploding man. Like earlier, most of his limbs were gone but was in the process of repairing itself. "Just hand over Virginia Potts and maybe I wouldn't get angry."

Kyoko merely pointed her spear against the man, "You destroyed my home."

"And I'll do more than destroy your home little girl–_argh!_" Yuma summoned her staff and used said staff to strike the earth. Her action led to the shaking of the ground. Kyoko used that moment of confusion to summon more chains and wrap it around the exploding man. One red chain emerged from the cocoon that was the man and extended until it was within Kyoko's reach. With a pull, the cocoon of chains came flying towards them, which resulted in Yuma hitting the cocoon like a baseball bat hitting a ball with her staff.

The man wrapped in chains was sent hurling away from the group. It would have been funny too, had Pepper's companion not ruined it.

"Maya, what're you doing?" Pepper was currently held captive by the girl with the same gun that the new intruder had tried to use on Steve earlier. She must've gotten hold of the firearm during all the confusion.

"I'm sorry Pepper. But Aldrich and I need Tony to complete Extremis." came the brunette's reply.

* * *

><p>Clint was the agent S.H.I.E.L.D. sent to make sure that Steve was okay. Natasha was somewhere in Russian territory doing something he didn't particularly find funny, Bobbi was currently spying in a major branch of the Hand's yearly meetings, leaving only him and Agent 13 – Sharon Carter – as the only viable agents for this… babysitting gig.<p>

Since Sharon was prepping for a mission against Hydra, and Clint has recently finished his mission, it was him who was sent to Steve Roger's home. Only, he didn't see a home when he got there.

"You blew up your own house." Clint's gruff voice broke the silence between him and Steve Rogers as policemen, firemen, and curious neighbors were around Steve's destroyed home. There was also the presence of the local news people doing a media coverage on the whole incident.

"No, I didn't." Steve was wrapped in a blue blanket as he and Clint leaned on the ambulance sent to their home. Before them were Kyoko and Yuma, sitting on a gurney, being checked for injuries by an EMT. The two kids didn't have a scratch on them, thanks to their magic according to Yuma, but Steve still encouraged them to let an EMT check for anything their magic might've missed.

"Go over the story, once again." Clint could still not believe that the 'Ten Rings' were after Pepper. Tony, yes, because he saw Tony's angered challenge to the organization in the news, but Pepper? The only obvious thing Clint could think of as to why the Ten Rings would need to kidnap Pepper was to lure out Tony.

Steve was repeating the part where Aldrich had placed a gun on his head when Clint saw the blond man simply stopped and stood up.

"Steve?"

A thick and heavy fog seems to be forming quickly around them. The temperature around seems to have dropped too. The two kids were then next to Steve, the three locking at each other's eyes like they were locked in a mental conversation.

With the three nodding, Steve turned to Clint. "Follow me."

"What's going on?" Of course, he followed. The fog was so heavy Clint could not see a couple of feet away. He hated not being able to see. His sight was his most prized sense of all. He was Hawk_eye_, after all. Seeing this heavy fog around them didn't sit well with him.

Another thing that bothered Clint was how Steve and the two girls could still walk surely despite their visions being impaired.

When Steve and the two kids stopped walking, the fog around them seemed to thin out. His sight baffled him because a couple of feet away, the fog was so heavy, you couldn't see anything.

Clint was then on the alert when he heard footsteps – five of them – nearing them.

The first one was a rugged man with dark hair. He wore a leather jacket underneath a white shirt. His thick clothes didn't do a good job of hiding his strong musculature.

The second one was a man who wore red shades that complimented his red hair. Since his eyes were hidden, Clint found him to be the most difficult to read. His stance, however, was very collected.

The third one was a woman who had red hair. Dressed in tight pants and a brown button up, she held herself with a silent sureness that Clint no doubt only saw in women of his profession – in fact, Natasha was the only woman whom he knew who could surpass this woman in charisma.

The fourth and fifth one were women with white hair. One had it short and had fair skin while the other one had long hair and olive skin. They both held themselves in high esteem, with the long-haired one exuding a sort of regal-ness that can only be seen in monarchies. The long-haired one, in his opinion, was the most beautiful woman among the three.

"Mr. Rogers, we heard what happened." The redhead woman spoke in behalf of her group.

"We could have gotten to you earlier should my master be here." The woman with short white hair said.

"Who're you?" the man with black hair turned to Clint.

"He's with me." Steve told the man in a final tone.

"Logan," the redhead woman reprimanded. "Please excuse my colleague here," she told Clint. The woman then faced Steve, "The professor extends his help to you, Mr. Rogers."

* * *

><p>When Clea had come to them explaining that something has happened to Steve Rogers and the two girls, the first thing Charles did was confirm it on Cerebro.<p>

While he was extending a hand out to Dr. Stephen Strange and the magical folk, he was still wary of them. A little doubt, after all, was healthy.

According to Clea, Doctor Strange had placed wards on Steve's house that would notify him should an incident happen to them. Professor X thought it to be tasteless on Doctor Strange's part because he was basically invading Steve Roger's privacy. To a telepath, invasion of one's privacy is one of the worst things you could do to another person.

Still, Cerebro confirmed that Steve, Kyoko and Yuma were under distress. He should have looked into the heads of those trying to harm Steve but that would be against what his morals stood for, what Cerebro stood for. Mutants should use their powers for the good of everyone. Cerebro was only used to locate people, not read one's thoughts halfway across the globe.

Clea then said something about Doctor Strange being currently occupied – something about repairing a broken seal on this dimensional monster – and that only Clea and her powers could give them support. "I could teleport us there only until I've seen and been into the place."

She had powers similar to Kurt's.

"My master could do it, but he's really, really busy right now."

So, as a plan, Professor X sent out four of his friends to try and reach out to Steve.

* * *

><p>Steve had laid down his cards.<p>

"Will it be okay for me to leave Kyoko and Yuma under your care while I try to rescue Pepper Potts?" He and Tony might have a somewhat strained relationship due to what he did to Steve's two girls, but he still considered Tony a friend. He knew that the right thing to do was to go and help Tony, and helping Tony – he was sure – would involve making sure that Pepper was safe. Steve could see how much Pepper meant to Tony, and Steve firmly believed that Tony would prefer it if Steve helped Pepper not Tony.

"You don't even know where Pepper is." Clint was still reeling over the teleportation spell that Clea had cast earlier. After accepting the aid by Professor X, Jean Grey led the group to a van. The sorceress-apprentice then remembered that she could now return the group in the mansion without so much as using an ounce of fuel. Clint personally felt a slight tinge in the air before realizing that he was now inside what appears to be a garage full of vintage cars.

Hawkeye then noticed Jean Grey and Charles Xavier looked at each other in serious contemplation, but it would be Clea who would earn the attention of everyone, "I could scry for this person's location." Still, he filed away the looks the two telepaths shared with each other on the topic of locating people.

"You could?" Ororo asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Yes. With magic it would be very easy for me. So long as she wants to be found and no one has bespelled her."

"What would you need?" Steve was seriously contemplating this.

"Just an atlas and something she may have touched." she said before turning around and poofing out of the room.


	19. Act 2:2

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **so far, the Rebellion, Avengers (2012) and Iron Man 3 movie

**A/N: **...the ripples of change in the flow of time are now more pronounced than ever.

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p>That night, Kyoko sat on the mansion's rooftop. Up above her was the drowning view of the cloudless night sky, filled with innumerable stars and a moon that glowed without shame. After being transported here, Steve and Jean Grey had left her and Yuma on one of the many dorm rooms of the school. In her honest opinion, their room would have been nice had it not been occupied by an angst-y teenager named Laura, who, at first meeting, did not like her two new roommates.<p>

Good thing Laura generally kept to herself, silently scribbling on her worn-out notebook. It suited Kyoko fine that Laura wasn't the talkative type too, and for as long as they didn't acknowledge each other's presence, Kyoko could bear being with the dark-haired girl.

Currently, Steve had gone with the adults, leaving her and Yuma to their own devices.

Yuma left the room fifteen minutes ago and was most likely eating dinner by now. Earlier, the greenette had tried talking to their reclusive roommate, but all she got were un-womanly snarls and annoyed grunts. Kyoko was the one who adviced Yuma to leave the girl alone, because while Laura was generally introverted, Kyoko knew that she was not the type of person you should be socializing with. Laura was like most loner-types among their [Puella Magi] profession; they generally stays out of your way if you leave them be, but can be very deadly when you start poking them around.

Kyoko knew someone who behaved like Laura. She was a [Puella Magi] from the Kanto region. Among the native people of the place, she was known as the [Silent Trumpeteer] for wielding an extending lance-turned trumpet. They didn't know her name for she rarely talked, and when she did, her stale voice only muttered single words. When asked to help with the [Wraith] population by the local girls, she wouldn't think twice in lending a hand, but once you start patrolling near her school and her neighborhood, the girl tends to get confrontational – something the redhead could attest because Kyoko had actually fought with her for a good two hours.

Their fight ended with a stalemate. And not a lot of girls could do that when pitted against Kyoko.

Oh, Kyoko was definitely better than her, but what the girl lacked in experience, the girl made up for with sheer willpower and unrefined tenacity. Laura felt similar to the [Silent Trumpeteer] in the sense that Kyoko knew Laura would not think twice of retaliating once provoked – regardless or not she possessed amazingly dangerous mutant powers.

The redhead then felt movement behind her. Reflex dictated that she look at it, and what she found was that weirdly cheery girl named Megan. Only, she lacked her usual cheery part.

* * *

><p>Homura was finalizing her plan in response to the looming threat of Thanos' un-doubtful return. For sure, the insane Titan would be more equipped, better prepared, and <em>smarter<em> than the last battle. Thanos having another [Infinity Gem] in his possession would not be that farfetched of an idea too. She knew that her forces would not stand a chance with another direct confrontation.

She has decided to move to a timeline in possession of an [Infinity Gem]. To mask the undoubtedly suffocating potential Madoka possessed, she would use the 'stench' of another [Infinity Gem] nearby. She was narrowing it down between (1) staying in a pocket dimension near the domain of a version of Taneleer Tivan, the [Collector], who possessed the yellow [Infinity Gem], or, (2) in Xandar, where the Nova Corps and the Guardians of the Galaxy protected the blue [Infinity Gem].

She was also happy that she had found the [Mami] she had lost earlier, located in the timeline where she hand imprisoned [Kyoko]. She could not really focus on them right now because most of her essences was focused on calculating every [Deviance] that might occur with her plans to move.

Still, it was a good thing that at least now, she would not spare any more of her attention since Mami has been located. Two birds with one stone, and all that. But that is to say that having two functional [Magical Girls] would not go unnoticed, so she split some of her attention to appear in Kyoko and Mami's timeline.

* * *

><p>That Megan girl was sniffling her sobs. The pink-haired, pointy-eared girl had taken the seat that was very far away from Kyoko's location. Despite the distance, Kyoko could very clearly hear her sniff.<p>

The old Kyoko would not have bothered. The old Kyoko was selfish out of necessity. 'You only needed yourself because people would leave you, disappoint you, and hurt you in the end' was her mantra back then. With other people around, doors to things she called 'complications' and 'distractions' opened. What mattered most to someone like the old Kyoko was the next delicious meal she ate and the next monster she'd defeat. Natural selection and all that.

But the _present_ Kyoko was different. She'd let other people into her heart. More people into her heart than she'd have liked. She did so out of necessity not just for herself but also to the person she cared for the most–Yuma. Actually this new Kyoko might not be new at all. She was starting to resemble the Kyoko from before the [Wish]. A girl who could let people into her heart easily.

The pre-[Wish] Kyoko would do something like, "Hey you, what're you crying about." Well, the pre-[Wish] Kyoko would have been more polite.

"I miss my home." Megan said with sniff. The words of an obviously bullied person, in Kyoko's observation.

Kyoko could feel her eye twitch. How very weak. And Kyoko hated people who were weak. Pathetically weak, actually.

"Hey!"

Kyoko realized that she must've said it out loud. But she would not apologize for what she believed in. "Ever heard of the food chain?" There was feel of déjà vu in her words, but it didn't make her voice falter, "The strong would always prey on the weak. The weak would get eaten by the strong. It's natural selection. You learn that in school, right?"

Kyoko's words must've gotten to her because she suddenly stopped sniffing.

"What should I do? Get stronger?" she said with a sarcastic snort, "I doubt getting stronger would do much for me."

Kyoko summoned her [Soul Gem] not caring if she would be seen or not, "Be _better_."

* * *

><p>Gaea was in [Takamagahara] (or the realm of the gods) as Neith, her Egyptian incarnation, when a small doll-like girl appeared in their halls carrying an enveloped in its thin arms. It was only she and Hathor in the area, and the other girl merely raised a brow upon looking at the construct. The doll spoke in a language that sounded like Russian before handing the envelope to her.<p>

Opening the envelope and pulling the piece of paper, she read it silently:

-0-0-0-

Grüße!

Sie werden hiermit zum umzug des Nussknackers Prozession. Front row sitze des jahrhunderts begehrtesten komödie. Kommen! Viel spaß sie sich nach herzens wunsch!

Mit freundlichen Grüßen,

Homulilly

-0-0-0-

It was written poorly, like a child who spoke Mandarin wrote it in German who learned the language from a person who only spoke fluent Greek. But she tried to decipher the script:

-0-0-0-

Greetings!

You are hereby invited to the Nutcracker's Procession. Front row seats to the century's most coveted comedy. Come! Entertain yourself to your heart's desire!

With kind regards,

Homulilly

-0-0-0-

Very peculiar indeed.

Gaea studied the letter again, checking if there was a code or any detail she might've missed. When she was sure that there was nothing worth noting on the letter, she studied the envelope. It had the most peculiar emblem; a woman from lower jaw below, a cracked teeth, pushpins crossed together, and the semblance of a spider lily flower. In her knowledge, no one among her children, nor from the other godly origin, has this emblem.

Looking up, she realized that the doll who had delivered the message was looking over one of the obelisk display pieces in the room.

The [Great Mother] was just about to ask something when something… _powerful_ appeared in the room. The being had the appearance of a girl. Dark hair, purple eyes and the most impassive face she has ever seen on a child. It was chilling, but also invoked her maternal feelings for this girl also looked vulnerable. The doll turned and ran for this being, exclaiming Russian glee as she ran around the girl in circles.

This girl distinctly felt like one of her children, for all humans of the Earth were somehow related to her, but it was like realizing that the orange was a ponkan. They were similar in appearance but not really the same.

"Yes?" Gaea asked. Considering how this girl managed slip passed the gods' knowledge and appear here, this girl must have a hierarchy higher than the citizens of this realm. And the only thing higher than gods are cosmic beings.

"I have imprisoned three girls in your realm." Her voice was calculating, as if anticipating the worst of responses. Gaea noticed that Hathor has stopped moving, actually everything around her stopped moving.

_No, that's not it_. Everything just stopped. "Girls?"

"They are my… _friends_." The last word left a sour note that Gaea thought to be disgust and an odd sense of guilt.

But three girls? Oh, yes. Gaea had felt those like sore thumbs from a pile of sore thumbs the last time she was on Earth. She could feel all extraterrestrials that littered her world, and she was fine with them for as long as they did not threaten the very existence of her children, but these two – no, they were three now – were special. A special kind of special that was so very distinct that to [Comprehend] them would be a headache.

"You imprisoned your _friends_?" Gaea asked. She needed to know more about the situation. Clearly, she had not too many options with what she could do about them, and adding a cosmic being into the mix made things very complicated.

"It's for their safety." The young girl replied, flipping her hair back.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Gaea asked, a hand over her hip. This girl was powerful, no doubt, and Gaea has pretty much accepted what has happened but what if they acted in a deviant matter in accordance to what she stood for? As a being that upheld the very [Laws] of [Order], she would have to intervene when these three would get out of control. It was peculiar of this girl to use the word 'imprison', which might mean that these girls were capable of negating the near-infinitesimal power a cosmic being had. Cosmic beings had the power erasing existences, after all.

Maybe these three were powerful enough that a cosmic being cannot erase them!

She was met with a raised dark brow in response. "Do not worry for I have placed a few… acquaintances to oversee them."

The dark haired girl curtsied, "I merely ask that you do not purposely try to negate their very existences. I would deeply be saddened should you erase my friends from existence, Mother." This girl knew theatrics. The young girl smiled at her, "Besides, a direct descendant of yours has already taken a shine at two of them. The youngest of the three, in particular."

* * *

><p>Steve was wearing a combat suit. He lacked his shield, but it still looked imposing.<p>

"Where are you going, Steve?" Steve had ushered the two kids into their dorm room, with Laura being thankfully out.

"I'm going to look for Pepper." He took a seat on Yuma's bed.

"I wanna go with you." Yuma told him. Kyoko was listening as she leaned on a bookshelf, a tube of Pringles in her had.

Steve shook his head, "It'll be dangerous."

"I know."

"You'll get hurt."

"So will you."

"I can take it."

"So can I, Steve."

The blond sighed, "It doesn't concern you. Pepper is my friend, you don't know her."

"You're concerned, we're family. I-" Yuma looked at Kyoko, "We do this together."

"Please don't make this hard for me, Yuma." He placed a hand over her shoulder, "I want you to be safe. I want you to understand why I'm doing this."

Yuma deflated, "Okay."

Steve grinned and ruffled her hair, "I'll be back before you know it."

Before Steve left, he sent Kyoko a look that told her to not worry which she replied with a look that said 'be safe.'

* * *

><p>After the audience with the [Great Mother] Homura, with the power she stole from the [Law of Cycles], prepared to summon four guardian heralds. Heralds tasked with the safety and prolonged ignorance of Kyoko, Yuma and Mami. More so for Kyoko because Kyoko was now a [Singularity].<p>

The only difficulty now was choosing the heralds. She didn't have agents to work for her, Madoka did. And with what she had done to Madoka, a lot of these agents were negatively affiliated with Homura. These chosen heralds should be those who could overlook what she had done to her best friend, or someone who needed something Madoka even as a cosmic being could not have done for them.

With that in mind, the list has now been narrowed into a short, but efficient one. It was no coincidence too that these girls were those who had tried (and fantastically failed) to disrupt the providence imposed by the Incubators before Madoka chose to become a cosmic being.

Four figures, appeared before her. Solemn, alert but at ease, these four girls looked at Homura with a serious look.

She had set the die, played her turn and waited patiently for the move of the unseen forces.

The wait was always the hardest part.

* * *

><p>"We are <em>so<em> in trouble." Kyoko muttered, munching on Pringles as she sat on the moving X-Jet.

Yuma giggled, "You don't actually sound worried, _onee-chan._"

Yuma actually tried to sneak into what Steve's mission with a half-baked plan that involved a blanket and a box. Kyoko, after that awkward conversation with Megan, was unfortunate enough to stumble upon Yuma midway in that plan of hers on her way back into their room.

Long story short, Yuma somehow managed to convince and/or blackmail Kyoko into becoming an accomplice to this on-going train wreck.

That is how Kyoko found herself, illusioned to be invisible thanks to her magic, inside the mutants' jet plane unbeknownst to the nearby adults.

"Oh, I'm gonna say this was your idea, and I just followed you because if I didn't, you'd be in even more trouble that now." Kyoko plunged her hand back into the Pringles tube.

The two girls were cloaked using Kyoko's more powerful illusions, despite Kyoko's initial distaste to using such unnecessary powers. They've been flying for almost an hour now, without anyone knowing Kyoko and Yuma were there.

In front of the two children were Steve and his companions. Accompanying the blond were four mutants (Ororo, Logan, Scott, Jean Grey), Clint and Clea. The mutants actually wore the same kind of tight suit Kyoko and Yuma wore on their assessment test in the danger room.

Out of the corner of Kyoko's eye, she noticed Jean Grey look around the room.

"Jean?" the redhead guy named Scott looked at her, "What's wrong?"

"I've been feeling since the jet took off," Jean Grey placed a hand over her temples, "but I sense _eight_ presences here." With that said, Kyoko stiffened.

"But they're only six of us." Scott looked around.

"I know," Jean said, "that's why I'm bothered."

Clea, who was seated in front of Jean, raised a hand. She muttered something Kyoko did not understand and a burst of yellow light flashed before her eyes. Before she knew it, her spell was forcibly being unraveled, and the next thing she knew, Kyoko felt Steve's eyes on her.

* * *

><p>"I am <em>very<em> disappointed in you two." In retrospect, an angry Steve was a cold type of fury that made one stiffen and awake. It's similar to those cold 7AM showers you take on weekdays because your heater broke down.

Kyoko noticed that the adults, well the immature ones known as men, were amused at the tongue-lashing the two kids were enduring, Clint was actually smirking as he checked his quiver of arrows.

"On my defense," Kyoko started, nonchalantly resuming her unfinished tube of Pringles, "I only accompanied Yuma because it would've exploded on her face had I not."

Steve gave her a look.

She backed down. "More spectacularly than now, I mean." Kyoko added sheepishly as she sunk down further on the ground.

The blond man turned to the pilot, "Turn around, we're returning them to the mansion."

Ororo, who held the controls, pursed her lips. Logan was the one who translated her facial expression, "Or, they could just stay inside the jet." He pointed at the scene in front of them, "We're already here."

"We're in a pier." Clint said, unfastening his seatbelt.

Clea pointed out, "Based from what we were able to scry, this is the place where Virginia Potts is located." The same hand started to glow yellow as Clea pointed it in many directions.

"There!" her hand settled on one of the ships parked in the pier. "She is somewhere over there."

Jean Grey placed a hand over her temples. "Yes. There are also people over there with her." She looked at Steve, "I'm gonna contact her now, if that's okay with you."

* * *

><p>Everything was on fire. From the tips of her fingers to deep inside her bones, everything burned.<p>

Pepper was finding it harder and harder to create and maintain cohesive thought with the drugs they had injected in her.

Actually, Pepper actually thought she was getting delirious because someone was talking to her. In her head.

'_Miss Virginia Potts?'_ This came from a female voice. '_Miss Virginia Potts_,' the voice insisted, '_can you hear me?_'

_I've lost it, haven't I?_ Despite the pain that wrecked her body, she felt a small smile appearing on her face.

'_No, you haven't_,' the voice said in a pacifying, soothing voice, '_if you could, I could project myself in front of your eyes_.'

Pepper entertained the voice inside her head and pried her eyes open. Just like what the voice in her head said, a woman who was not there before appeared before her. She had long red hair, darker than her locks, and she wore what appears to be a form-fitting tight suit not dissimilar to what Tony has designed for Steve. A suit that hugged her every curve perfectly.

_Why can't I have a body like that?_ Yes, now of all times did she find jealous of other people's figures.

'_You flatter me, Ms. Potts._' The woman rested a hand on a nicely curved hip and shook her head, '_Don't worry, help is on their way._'

_Okay, let me just close my eyes first_.

'_As long as you stay awake, I'm okay with that_.'

_Keep me awake then_, she replied.

'_You have a deal._'

Her nerves were going haywire again, but at least there was someone who was with her. Regardless or not the voice was a figment of her imagination.

* * *

><p>"I've confirmed it, Ms. Potts is definitely somewhere inside the ship." While she kept a portion of her attention to keeping the telepathic link between her and Ms. Potts alive, she was still able to scan the superficial thoughts of most of the ship's inhabitants. From what she could gather, the passengers were mostly mercenaries and scientists working under this organization called A.I.M.<p>

She did not go further than a quick scan because Jean Grey had learned from experience that most people with military training had strong natural telepathic defenses that could inhibit a telepath from looking inside their head. Oh, Jean Grey could still read their minds, but with her attention divided because of keeping her link with Pepper Potts, it would not be subtle. And for all she knew, these people had counter-measures or protocols to telepathic probes. It would be highly unlikely, but Jean Grey reckoned it is in Pepper's best interest if she wouldn't poke the sleeping dragons.

It could be like Hellfire Club all over again.

* * *

><p>Scott, better known as Cyclops, was initially amused over the military guy's antics upon finding the two stowaways, but then he looked at everyone and immediately asked a very hard question.<p>

"I need to know everyone." Their eyes met, his blue orbs nestling on her red-tinted visor, "What are you all capable off." His voice was clear and authoritative, but not hard enough that it could make personalities crash.

From a leader to another, Cyclops crossed his arms, "I shoot beams of light from my eyes, Jean's a telepath, Storm is… storm, and him," he was pointing at Logan, who raised a hand and unsheathed his steel claws.

Steve nodded firmly despite Cyclops' very vague description of the mutants' powers. "Okay. I gather you're more than capable of leading them well." He turned to everyone, tightening the straps of the suit the mutants gave to him.

"Here's what we'll do." He pointed at the area where Clea said Virginia Potts was located and to the farthest point of the ship from where Pepper was imprisoned. "We'll split into two teams. Clint and I would go in and pull Pepper out, Cyclops and his team would go over there and attract as much attention away from us as possible while Clea watched over the two kids."

Jean placed her input, "I'm going with you. I could lead you to Pepper the fastest because of the telepathic link I've established with her."

Cyclops and her shared a look before he turned to Logan, "Wolverine, I want you to accompany them. Your skillset would be more suited to them than us."

The gruff man eyes him before nodding and sizing-up Steve, "Front row seats to what you can do, _Captain_."

Ororo could only roll their eyes, "If you're done with the testosterone, Logan."

Jean turned to her female friend, "Storm?" Ororo nodded before her eyes suddenly glowed white.

Just below, Cyclops could see Storm's powers taking form: the whole area is now heavily clogged with thick mist. He then moved over the controls and pressed a few buttons.

From the other side of the jet, the hatch opened.

Ororo turned to Jean, "I'll guide you through the mist."

The redhead nodded as she raised a hand and levitated herself, Wolverine, Hawkeye and Steve.

* * *

><p>Clea was left with two children and two mutants inside the jet.<p>

The female mutant turned to her, "What do you think of lightning?" Her white glowing eyes and that smile of hers together was intimidating, but the succession of lightning that rained from the clouds was even more intimidating.

Still, she took it as a challenge. "I like it. But sometimes, a little magic would do the trick." She raised two hands and sang a spell. The result was instantaneous. Explosions of unknown origins appeared out of nowhere, disrupting the quietness that was prevalent earlier.

Yuma was looking out the windows of the jet, standing between the two women, "That's pretty cool."

Kyoko, on the other hand, simply occupied herself with her food.

* * *

><p>Steve had finally known what it's like to fly. Ms. Grey's description of what she did was something known as telekinesis – the ability to move things with your mind.<p>

Currently, they were running as quietly as possible as they made their way to where Pepper was held captive – well, Jean just levitated herself to not be bothered with making her footsteps quiet. His two mutant companions actually had skills that made this whole extraction job easy. Logan had a very acute sense of smell and hearing that could discern someone far away and Jean was a telepath who could sense someone even behind closed doors.

Actually, he felt a little useless because the two mutants seemed to be doing most of the work.

"This is ridiculous." Clint whispered. His role in the group was to disable the camera feed using his arrows. Actually, that was the only thing he was able to do because once he had taken down a camera, the two mutants simply didn't bother with stealth – they simply walked as if the owned the place, so sure of themselves thanks to their superhuman powers. What was the point of keeping quiet when you could already sense that no one was nearby?

Also, with Jean Grey's lead, it only took a good ten minute journey to get to the area where Pepper was located. All four stopped and readied themselves.

Logan cracked his knuckles, "Jean?"

The redhead closed her eyes and placed a hand on her temple, "Twenty two: Eighteen mercenaries and four scientists. Pepper is about to be drugged again."

Clint actually scowled, "Like I said, this is ridiculous." He readied an arrow and pulled the string from his bow before muttering under his breath, "You three have made spying ridiculously easy."

"I heard that." The three superhumans said in unison.

Clint spared them a taunting glance, "Well you did." He then faced the steel door that separated them from Pepper. "Captain?"

Steve Rogers nodded before raising a foot and kicking the door with a little bit of force.

* * *

><p>Cyclops had ordered everyone buckled on their seats as he took the wheel. With what the two older women did with their powers, he reckoned that most of the mercenary forces inside the ship were out on the deck. Storm had removed the initial mist she had placed on the area so the X-Jet would be even more of an eyesore to them.<p>

Clea had then cast a spell that surrounded their plane with a protective barrier that deflected the bullets the mercenary contingent were showering on them. Storm in turn was using her powers to create winds strong enough to disorient the foes. They only wanted them occupied, not dead after all. Kyoko and Yuma? They sat on their seats, Yuma looking bored and Kyoko almost done with her Pringles.

Everything was going smoothly before a group of mercenaries came out brandishing rocket launchers and bazookas.

Cyclops turned to Clea, "Can your barrier withstand that?"

Clea knit her brows together, "That many?" She looked at him, "How good are you at driving this thing?"

Cyclops grinned, "Pretty good."

* * *

><p>Logan let out a low whistle as the door Steve Rogers had kicked shot like a missile.<p>

The guards there was caught off-guard and dazed as a four-inch thick door was taken down without the use of explosives.

One of the mercenaries had yelled out 'intruders!' and started this chain reaction that ended with them pulling out their guns and shooting at the four of them.

Eighteen people with guns against four people were pretty much a slaughter against those four. Especially since these eighteen people were military-trained individuals with questionable morals.

But the four were pretty amazing individuals on their own; Clint Barton is a product of the Academy – a place that produced agents capable of toppling governments in seven hours flat, Jean Grey is an Omega-level mutant capable of telepathically lobotomizing a human being with _extreme_ precision twenty miles away from her location while scanning for a different person located on a populous neighboring town opposite of her victim, Wolverine is one of the few sane legacies of the Weapon X project – a dangerous project that stems to reproduce the Serum that birthed Steve, and, Steve Rogers is the ideal product project Extremis could only ever dream to replicate.

In reaction, Jean Grey levitated the steel door the Captain had kicked and any furniture thick and sturdy enough to withstand bullets to shield most of the shots aimed at the four of them. Keeping the them afloat, she then used her telekinesis to send a couple of men aside with a wave of her hand, knocking them hard on the walls and at each other.

Meanwhile, Clint had taken refuge to the floating steel door, readying an arrow on his bow.

"Keep the body count low." Steve ordered, specifically to Clint. Hawkeye merely grunted before exposing himself and letting an arrow loose and returning back to his cover.

In comparison, Wolverine ran as fast as he could, taking the most hits from the all. His regenerative powers were on the go as he unsheathed his claws and went straight for the nearest mercenary. "Jean, get rid of their guns!"

Amidst all the ensuing chaos, Steve ran to Pepper's aid. Strapped into a gurney, the young woman was glowing in an eerily familiar way like the exploding man who tried to kidnap her.

* * *

><p>Outside, Cyclops tried his best to shrug off the missiles fired at the Blackbird.<p>

Kyoko likened the experience as riding a roller coaster.

The redhead might be a good pilot, but the enemy sometimes were able to land a hit. The barrier that protected the airship absorbed most of the damage but the concussive force of the blast still rocked the plane.

"Any word from them yet?" Cyclops asked to Storm.

The woman with glowing white eyes shook her head. Because of the threat of a missile hitting something else and causing an accident that might take casualties, Storm was in-charge of forcefully detonating all missiles Cyclops was fortunate enough to dodge using her control over lightning.

Scott nodded before turning to Clea, "Can the barrier still last?"

The woman with glowing yellow hands shook her head. She was in deep concentration keeping the barrier intact using her own energies. Repairing the barrier was already taking its toll on her.

Four more missiles were sent towards their direction, "Hang on!"

* * *

><p>Jean Grey had dropped the telepathic link between her and Pepper to better focus on the battle. Using a combination of her telepathy and telekinesis, she overrode the will of every person holding a gun to stop shooting and then levitated all of the guns away from their grasp. Simultaneously pulling eighteen guns, after all, was no sweat to her.<p>

What she did not expect was the trump card these eighteen mercenaries held in their hands.

When the guns were pulled, they immediately resorted to hand-to-hand combat. They were proficient at it, but they were inhumanely stronger than normal – she actually noticed one of them denting the steels walls after Steve dodged a punch from one of them. Some of them were even starting to glow.

With a quick scan on their minds, she was able to find out that they were all powered up by something called the Extremis project.

Logan and Steve were able to go toe-to-toe with them, Clint too (if he didn't get hit), but it was eighteen super humans with military training against three super humans and a human with superior training. The four of them might be exceptional individually, but the eighteen of them had something the four of them lacked – unified teamwork. The eighteen of them were slowly overwhelming the four of them with teamwork: they might overpower one, but two more would take their place. The battle was in favor of the mercenary forces too because no matter how great the four of them are, all the enemy had to do was tire them out.

The only sound solution to this is if they would…

"We're retreating!" came the reply of Captain Rogers.

Jean Grey turned to the side, and saw Steve carrying Pepper over his shoulder.

She nodded, levitating herself and flying towards the exit. Beside Steve, she then used her telekinesis to pull Logan and Clint towards the exit.

* * *

><p>'<em>Ororo, we've got Pepper. We're on our way.'<em>

Storm had relayed this information to Scott, who was still maneuvering around all the things the mercenaries threw at them. Fortunately they've run out of missiles. The bad thing is the appearance of reinforcements in the form of five, fully-equipped helicopters.

"We've got to clear out the deck." Cyclops told the four females in the plane.

Well, the helicopters were easy to take care of, Storm and Clea had no problems taking them down using lightning and magic, but since Steve's team is about to arrive any second, "We have to clear out the deck before Jean arrives."

The first few minutes of riding the Blackbird was fun, but Kyoko was starting to get a headache with the all the jerking and moving her body was forced to endure. She could ask Yuma to heal the migraine, but the real solution is going home and lying down on her bed.

Bring out her [Soul Gem], she used her magic to clear the path for Steve. She rationalized that this was for Steve and his safety, so a little excess use of her magic would be good.

Five seconds later, the three adults boarding the plane would realize that the people on the deck were groaning and squirming, bound by red chains that was not there earlier. And when all this was over, the three adults would look at each other in confusion before Yuma would smugly say that it was her _onee-chan'_s doing.

* * *

><p>"Well, that was anticlimactic." Pepper was lying on a stretcher in the Blackbird. When Jean arrived levitating her entire group, Scott had given the controls to Ororo and had rushed to open hatch to let them inside the plane.<p>

Only Clea and Yuma were the only ones capable enough of giving an immediate assessment of Pepper's overall condition. Also, Clea and Yuma were only capable of administering immediate aid to the newly-freed captive. And a magical type of aid too. In Clea's opinion, that made things very complicated on this specific situation.

Yuma was able to discern that some type of poison was in Pepper. Clea was able to clarify this by saying that it was not necessarily a poison (it was merely a foreign substance) while adding that Pepper's body was somehow still deciding whether or not the body would accept this foreign substance.

Yuma was just about to use her magic to force out the substance inside Pepper before Clea had vehemently discouraged it. To use magic in removing something that Pepper's body is trying to assimilate with could make Pepper's body go into shock. It would be better if Pepper's body was trying to fight against the foreign substance, but that was not the case.

To use magic to try and heal something so scientific needs to be done by someone with a very decorated and extensive history of [Alchemy]. Someone who isn't Yuma.

Yuma could only frown before running a green hand over Pepper's stomach.

The soothing glow coming from Yuma's hands enveloped Pepper's form. The redhead female, who was sweating and groaning, relaxed. Her features had gone from in pain to at ease as Yuma did her miracle.

"There!" Yuma grinned at Pepper as the older woman opened her eyes. "You're all better."

Clea looked Yuma with a serious look, "What did you do?"

The child's grin widen, "Since you told me that Pepper was trying to accept this foreign substance, I just used my magic to…" she paused looking over at Kyoko, not knowing how to explain it properly in English.

Kyoko, who was near the two girls, spoke up in behalf of Yuma, "_Hasten the process by aiding and soothing the assimilating process happening inside her body." _Kyoko never liked all this magical healing mumbo-jumbo. And if there's one thing she hated with healer-type girls, it is how they get very technical when it comes to explaining how they did something to fellow [Puella Magi].

Clint translated this, which, in turn, made Clea even more serious, "Child! While I admit that what you did was a feat of its own, we do not have any idea of what the foreign substance in her body is doing to her right now. For all we know, you've shortened Pepper's lifespan by letting her accept the foreign substance!"

Yuma deflated, looking remorseful, "I was only try to help."

"Well, you weren't." Clea reprimanded harshly. "This is why my master wants to tutor you; your careless use of magic may do more harm than good!"

Kyoko along with the other adults around were silent, and she noticed that Yuma was getting teary-eyed. Kyoko believed that Yuma needed to hear this. Actually, Kyoko has been drilling the careful use of magic to her for as long as she knew the kid, but Yuma has always been stubborn. Kyoko could only hope that Yuma did not [Despair] from this.

Pepper tried to sit up, placing a hand on Yuma's shoulder. "I don't know what everyone's all worked-up about, but I'm feeling great." She smiled at the little girl, "Thank you, Yuma."

Jean Grey, ever a teacher at heart, was silent disapproving of the harsh words Clea had said to young Yuma, "We could have Hank look over Pepper's condition once we get back in the mansion."

The other mutants nodded in understanding: Hank was the resident egghead after all.

Pepper placed a hand on the steel wall of the jet's plane, when the undeniable gong of steel being bent was heard. Pepper realized that it was coming from her hand. She then realized that the steel wall she had touched was bent, and slightly steaming.

"Oh dear."

* * *

><p>"So we're looking at… what exactly?" Sure, Tony Stark was restrained in the most uncomfortable position but he's gotta say that he's pretty embarrassed for Aldrich. The blond man was so sure of showing a hologram of something but when the video feed showed up, there was nothing to see. There was only an empty gurney.<p>

"I'm actually embarrassed for you, Killian." Despite the slight concussion and his injuries, Tony felt the edges of his lips curling upward.


	20. Act 2:3

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **so far, the Rebellion, Avengers (2012) and Iron Man 3 movie

**A/N: **...I have decided to redeem a previously villainous character from the IM3 movie.

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p>When Steve had met up with everyone after they had finished the mission, he genuinely thanked everyone for their help. Originally, Steve only asked the Professor to have Kyoko and Yuma stay over at the Mansion while Steve would try and rescue Pepper. The good man had actually taken the extra mile of 'loaning' exceptional individuals who were of great help in saving Pepper.<p>

At the moment, Steve was with Charles Xavier in what feels to be an underground infirmary. They were both accompanying Pepper as a blue-furred man in a lab coat named Hank McCoy checked on her. With them were Yuma and Clea – the two people who could explain what was done to Pepper when she was held captive and what was done to her during the plane ride back.

"Extraordinary…" Hank McCoy, despite his grisly appearance, behaved like a refined gentleman. Earlier, he had asked for Pepper's consent first before taking a sample of blood from the redhead. Currently, he was observing the specimen through an electron microscope.

"See something interesting?" Charles asked.

"The virus has somehow bonded with Ms. Pott's DNA." He looked up. "How are you feeling, Ms. Potts?"

The woman shrugged, "I feel fine."

"…but?" Hank urged her to continue.

"This." Pepper walked over to a table that had a glass of water filed with ice cubes. She dipped her finger in the glass and the result was instantaneous: steam came out from the glass.

"Extraordinary..." The egghead muttered.

"What's wrong with her, Mr. Cat?" Yuma tilted her head. Sure, she had relieved Pepper of her pain, but she knew she must have done something wrong to her.

Hank McCoy crossed his arms, "Right now, I do not know. Without any knowledge about what it is that's inside her, I cannot say if something is indeed wrong with her or not." Of course, in the movies the genius scientist only had to look through a microscope once and immediately know everything about the specimen. In real life, these things were usually more complicated than that.

"Oh." Yuma's face fell.

"But I can say that the virus, at the moment, is stabilized." Actually, it was a little endearing that Yuma thought Hank resembled a cat. It was better than what most people perceived him as.

"Well, what does that mean?" Of course, talking about biology and cytology to someone under ten can be a little frustrating. Good thing he was patient.

"It means: right now, there is nothing horribly wrong with Ms. Potts."

"Is that a good thing?" Yuma asked, "You said 'right now,' does that mean something bad will happen to her later?"

Hank saw the keen intellect this child possessed, "Well, I don't know yet."

His eyes met Pepper, "That is why I'm gonna ask Ms. Potts to remain here a little longer. I'm gonna see if I can study what it is that's been done to her."

Steve saw Yuma look at the man, then to Pepper, then back to Hank, "Can I stay?"

Hank smiled. With that, Steve finally why Yuma called the blue-furred man Mr. Cat, "Aren't you tired?"

Yuma nodded, "I am, but I can rest here with her."

Pepper thought it was too adorable and touching, "I'll be fine. I'm just gonna lie down here and… rest."She wanted to ruffle the greenette's hair but could not because of her current predicament. Anything she held had the amazing ability of breaking or melting lately. "Don't worry about me and go to sleep. You never know, I might be okay in the morning."

* * *

><p>"A.I.M. is trying to weaponize the Extremis virus?" Maria Hill was beside Nick Fury as they listen to Clint's report via phone call.<p>

"Have weaponized, sir. They already have soldiers who've undergone the treatment."

Nick Fury's visible eye was in slits, "Agent Barton, this has now become a priority…"

* * *

><p>Kyoko didn't mean to eavesdrop on Clint. It's Clint's fault, really, for doing it somewhere near her dorm room. The blond agent closed his phone and turned around. If he was surprised at Kyoko's sudden appearance, he did a good job of controlling it.<p>

The redhead, thinking that it was already 4AM anyway said, "I'm hungry."

Clint looked at her, pocketed his phone, and shrugged, "You always think about food, you know that?"

"That I do." Kyoko did not find herself offended at all. Food was a blessing after all.

She walked passed him, "I'm gonna eat breakfast. Want to come with me?"Kyoko had an inkling that he would refuse, but his footsteps a few feet behind him said otherwise.

The whole journey was shrouded in silence. Usually, Clint and Kyoko thrived in silence, and together, they had a sort of companionable silence, one that didn't necessitate small talk. But this silence was different because Kyoko had heard something she should not have.

"So, you're going again." Kyoko told him as she entered the kitchen. It was deserted so it was safe for her to say these things.

"I am." Clint went for the cupboards in search of cereal boxes.

Kyoko busied herself by finding two cereal bowls, "Just by yourself?"

It sounded like Kyoko was in disbelief so he said, "I've been through worse."

Clint then went for the fridge and brought out a carton of milk. Two bowls with a spoon beside each were on the marble table top. Kyoko was already waiting on a marble countertop, seated on a high stool.

"Are you gonna go right away?" Kyoko asked as she grabbed a Rice Krispies cereal box that Clint has placed before her.

In turn, Clint was pouring his bowl with Trix cereal, "I'm eating with you, aren't I?"

Kyoko rolled her eyes as she poured milk on her bowl, "You know what I mean."

Clint let out a lopsided grin, "Are you worried about me?"

"Forget I asked then." Kyoko told him, grabbing the spoon and munching happily by herself.

* * *

><p>Maya Hansen knew that her Extremis project would be a good thing for mankind. Initially, she came up with the virus with the aim of helping people: re-growing organs and limbs will be one of the major breakthroughs in medicine and science. It would greatly help those in dire need of failing organs and amputees. If it went all according to plan, Maya actually thought she could further mutate the virus to correct birth defects and hereditary diseases. In short, her project has a vision of helping a lot of people.<p>

The part of the reason why she became part of AIM was because the organization had funding that didn't easily dry up, so long as you brought results. Her project was already half-finished when she became part of AIM, so becoming part of the organization was not that hard at all.

Then, she met Aldrich. At first, he was charming, with his social awkwardness, and brave too – for volunteering himself to become the first human subject.

Still, for her project to be completed, for so many people to be saved, there were some evils she had do. "Just help me finish the project Tony," she urged. "It will help a lot of people."

But then, Aldrich had taunted Tony with a video of Pepper in pain. Tony did not know that Pepper had been rescued and Aldrich was not even remotely inclined to tell Tony that.

Maya had been tempted to bait Tony about Pepper's escape, because in her knowledge, without proper people observing Pepper's condition, Pepper was a ticking bomb. But according to Aldrich, it was mere details. Tony only needed to know that Pepper was in danger, and they were sure that Tony would help them.

Maya would then realize that she has stooped too low. Her morality damaged because of the dream of hers. This is not how she had envisioned Extremis' completion, blackmailing the good people who refused to work with them.

Of course, this had been Aldrich's idea, but Maya is not innocent either because she had let it happen. Since when did Maya throw away her morals? Since when has Aldrich thrown away _his _morals?

Looking at Aldrich now, showing Tony a fake _live_ feed of Pepper, Maya can't help but see that the Aldrich of her memory was no longer the Aldrich in front of her. In fact, Maya was starting to think Aldrich had an agenda of his own.

Why were all of the test subjects, aside from Aldrich, war veterans and ex-military? Maya had been tempted to take a look at the psych evals of all of their test subjects, but Killian had been very secretive about them. In fact, she felt that she did not even had to look at the test subjects' psych evaluations because it was either something she could not stomach to read or there were no psych evals in the first place. Why was Maya not invited during the test subjects' interview throughout the program? Why was she not there _during_ the treatment program? After all, in her opinion, looking into the eyes of people and seeing their happy looks upon knowing they had another change was something she had originally looked forward to. Heck, why was she not the one to introduce and tell the test subjects about the treatment? Why was Aldrich boxing her in on her _own _project?

What were once peculiarities to Maya has now become puzzle pieces in her mind. Puzzle pieces that was starting to fit in an alarming rate. It came down to a conclusion: Aldrich had _raped_ Maya's project, ideals and dreams.

Aldrich had weaponized project Extremis.

_Damn it_.

"I'm going out."

Maya didn't bother looking at their reactions, she just had to get away from them all.

Outside, Maya met one of _Killian's_ lackeys, Eric Savin.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

Maya didn't want to see anyone right now, but something crossed her mind. "Eric, how do you feel about your treatment?"

A look of confusion came into his face, "Whaddaya mean?"

Maya crossed her arms, "How do you feel now that you're…" she motioned to his regrown leg. Originally, it had been amputated due to a skirmish in his time in Iraq, "…like this?"

The man took a moment to look at Maya's face, probably wondering why she was asking this question, but when he realized that Maya was serious he said, "I feel… great." He smiled, a smile that was very different from his smirk because this smile was pure happiness, "I'm very thankful for Aldrich's program."

Maya wanted to smile, but, "_Aldrich_'s program?"

Eric looked at her like he grew an extra head, "Yes. He's the one who created the program. He's the one who gave me the chance to become the old me."

"What about me?" Maya didn't want to toot her own horn, but... "What do you think about me?"

"What do you mean?" Eric was definitely finding Maya's behavior odd.

"What do you know about me on this project?"

"Well, you're just a scientist on his paycheck." Eric told her honestly, "I mean, you helped him improve whatever it is you did to me." Upon seeing her grim expression, he added, "Right?"

Maya pursed her lips into a thin line. "Come with me."

They went into another room that had a computer. Maya took a seat on the computer chair and typed something in the console. Killian had not only bastardized her work, he also took all the credit. She knew in her heart that she had to disprove that: if there's one thing Aldrich was sloppy about, it's in the A.I.M. documents. That's part of the reason why they partnered up in the organization; with too much politicking happening in A.I.M., with scientists scrambling and smearing their colleagues to have a better cut of the gold, it was only natural for the two of them to have someone who would cover their weaknesses.

Clicking on the A.I.M. database, Maya brought out the much needed documents. "Read these."

Eric leaned over the table, looked over Maya's shoulder and read. "What am I supposed to see?" He figured he might as well entertain whatever it is Maya wanted him to see. There's nothing he could lose, right?

"Look at the signatures."

"What about the signatures? There a bunch of documents from a Maya Hansen, which I'm guessing is you, about the Extremis project." Eric had to reread it. "Head of research?" He looked at Maya.

Maya nodded, "Extremis is _my_ project. I studied it, I created it, all me, all mine."

Eric stood up and crossed his arms, "I don't want to be part of this… whatever it is between you two."

Maya stood from her seat. "I created Extremis believing it would save lives. I created it believing little kids with disabilities and mutations would be cured. I created it so soldiers like you would not end up regretting their decisions to serve their country. With this project, donating organs would not be that much of an immediate concern because Extremis could regrow organs. I had a dream that would make the world a better place – a dream that was so close to making it to reality."

Maya exhaled and _refused_ to cry, at least not until she's proven her point, "And now, Aldrich had weaponized that dream."

A moment of silence fell between them. Maya had let it sink to Eric, because she knew, deep down, Eric just wanted to do what was right.

"Anyway," she steeled herself and looked at Eric, "I want you to do something for _me_. You owe it to _me._"

* * *

><p>"<em>Morning<em>." Mami looked up from the stove as he saw Frank enter the kitchen.

Today was her second day in New York. To commemorate her second day, she has decided to cook breakfast for the person responsible to her new predicament. It was no different from her time by herself – all she had to do was make breakfast for two instead of one. Toast, brewed coffee, and scrambled eggs.

Frank looked at the breakfast table, and turned to Mami, "_Morning_."

"_I hope you don't mind eggs and toast._" Mami was untying her apron. She sat on an empty seat, offering a hand on another unoccupied seat in front of her.

Frank merely gruffed, not really a morning person, and sat down silently. "_You didn't have to cook breakfast._"

Mami was already stabbing her scrambled eggs with her fork, "_I _like_ cooking breakfast."_

"_This is good."_ Frank ate his share of scrambled eggs.

"_How do you like your coffee?_" Mami had placed cream and sugar on the small breakfast table earlier.

"_Pure black coffee._"

They ate in an awkwardly but friendly silence. For Mami, it had been a long time since she had cooked breakfast for someone else. For Frank, it had been a long time since he had someone who cooked breakfast for him that wasn't made by the hotel staff. For both of them, it had been a long time since either of them had eaten breakfast with someone. It had been a long time, but it was a nice feeling.

Mami tried to be polite and do some small talk, and to her surprise, Frank was very forthcoming with his answers. But then Frank introduced a new topic: school. Frank had pulled some strings and had Mami enrolled in a nearby school that had an exchange student program.

"_Also, the tutor who'll teach you English will be coming here later to assess you._" He told her as he sipped his morning coffee. Of course, this girl did not need to know that he had hired a mercenary – a feisty female named Silver Sablinova – to both act as a tutor and as a guard in case people would be after Mami.

* * *

><p>When she was sure that Killian was out of the facility, Maya entered the room that held Tony captive. According to Savin, the guard rotation for Tony would start any moment now, and that meant the old guards leaving their post to call the new guards.<p>

She walked as slowly as possible, hoping to send a vibe of being not-tense and at-ease. She avoided eye contact to anyone. Maya then faked doing something on a computer console nearby. When Tony, in his concussed state, tried to verbally poke her, she ignored him.

When the guards had left the room, finishing their shift, Maya made her move.

"What're you doing?" Tony asked as Maya came to him and unlocked his cuffs. The man unceremoniously fell down with a thud. Maya knelt down and pressed something cold and hard into his hand. It was a gun. "Let's go."

"What's happening?" Tony took her hand as she pulled him up.

"Extremis has been weaponized." It was all Maya said, each word hurting her to the core. She grabbed his arm and started pulling him away.

Before they were even out of the door, the two were met with a rain of bullets.

* * *

><p>Elsewhere, in a certain school for special individuals, two [Magical Girls] stopped what they were doing when they felt 'it'. Kyoko has just recently woken up from a nap after sending Clint off to his mission while Yuma was with Pepper and Hank down at the medical bay when they felt the pull of this something. Magic tends to be erratic and very different in this new... place, however, because of that difference, it was very easy to [Feel] magic expended by the two girls. An example of this is how easy it was for Kyoko to track down Steve's location during the time when he was going around town doing job interviews.<p>

'_Onee-chan, you felt that too, right?'_ Kyoko heard Yuma's voice in her head.

'_I'm on it._'

Kyoko was already running bolting out of the room. Those that would see her run were suddenly blinded by a bright flash of red before her clothes would turn into her costume. In her hands was her spear, dangerously but expertly poised in her hands.

'_Yuma, call and tell this to Steve and the Baldie_.'

'_Okay _onee-chan_, but be careful. We're on our way._' Down below, the unmistakable spike of magical power was felt by Kyoko's senses. It indicated that Yuma has also transformed, no doubt already running for help.

When she got into the location of where 'it' was located, she was shocked and afraid to find herself in mansion's lobby. A place filled with students. There, talking to another student, was the Exploding Man.

Kyoko did the first thing that came into her mind.


	21. Act 2:4

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **so far, the Rebellion, Avengers (2012) and Iron Man 3 movie

**A/N: **...I have decided to redeem a previously villainous character from the IM3 movie.

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p>For Eric Savin, the past few hours has been a whirlwind of events. First, he learns that the person who saved his life, Aldrich Killian, was a fraud. Second, the woman who created what did save his life, Maya Hansen, had ordered him to go look for help. Third, the help she was talking about happened to be from the three people whose house he destroyed a couple of hours ago.<p>

It's no wonder that he's currently outside dangling at least thirty feet above the ground on a brittle-looking pole.

"I just want to talk!" He yelled into the gathered crowd below.

Everything happened so fast: one moment he was talking to this girl with white highlights on her hair and the next thing he knew, he was being pulled by the back of his shirt's collar. Oh, and getting shoved out of a closed window, getting injured by the shards of the window, and somehow catapulting at least three storeys high.

There had been a slight touch on his head-no, his brain, and this voice came to him. He didn't hear it; it came directly inside his mind. "_I have two young girls telling me that you're responsible for destroying their house. They said you exploded._' The voice inside his head was that of a young woman. Haughty in her tone, and condescending in execution.

Eric was only a little bit aware of what these mutants were capable of so it came as a shock to him to learn that some of them are capable of telepathy.

'_I'm glad you think highly of us, Mr. Savin_.'

'_I didn't tell you my name_.' he fired back, feeling like he got caught with his hands on the cookie jar.

'_You didn't have too._' The voice playfully challenged.

Eric Savin cursed himself again.

"I just want to talk!" Eric tried to pry the thing that's gripping his shirt's collar but the more he tried to reach back, the higher the metal pole seemed to go.

'_One of the girls wants me to tell you that if you struggle some more, you'll end up a hundred feet in the air._'

"I just want to _talk_, I swear!"

* * *

><p>Down below, Kyoko and Yuma were transformed clutching their weapons. Kyoko felt the Exploding Man struggle again so she extended the spear ten more feet.<p>

Ms. Jean Grey and another mutant was conversing with the dangling man above. The older woman looked at the redhead, "Is this really necessary?"

Kyoko looked at her.

"He _really_ just wants to talk." Jean Grey placed a hand over her hip.

Kyoko stared at the older woman's face before relenting, "Fine, but it's on you if he decides to explode again."

But that didn't mean that Exploding Man –Eric Savin– was left off the hook after his feet touched the ground. Kyoko made sure to wrap his body securely in her chains, and had personally volunteered to be the one to drag her captive when Steve and Prof. Xavier came into the scene.

"So," Eric started upon finding himself still bound by the most peculiar of chains on the ground, "any chance you getting rid of these chains?" He was currently staring at Steve Rogers, two telepaths (Charles Xavier and Jean Grey), and those two kids wearing costumes. They had chosen to question the man out in the open, away from bystanders and buildings should their captive decide to go '_boom!_'.

Professor X looked at the girl responsible for Mr. Savin's predicament, before returning his gaze back into their captive, "I'm afraid you have to ask her yourself."

Kyoko turned to Steve before looking at Yuma. Kyoko scrunched her nose, which Yuma translated as: "She'd rather not, thank you very much."

"How are she even doing that?" Eric tried to stand, only for Kyoko to will the chains to tighten itself around him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you?"

Eric has just about had enough of it, "Look, all that's been instructed to me was to give a thumb drive to one Virginia Potts to hopefully help her in her… condition." He sat in a cross-legged position, "Has she broken anything yet?"

Before anyone could reply, an inquiring voice spoke, "What's a thumb drive?"

No one moved for a second before Kyoko just had to facepalm as Yuma explained it to Steve, "It's like a floppy disk… but better."

Her explanation was met with an even confused look on the blond's face, "And what's a floppy disk?"

Eric Savin tilted his head, "I'm surprised you even _know_ what a floppy disk is. Just how old are ya, kid?"

Yuma ignored him, never removing his gaze from Steve, "Well, a floppy disk is like-"

"Enough!" Kyoko stomped her foot. She pointed a finger at the captive man, "You, where's the flash drive?"

Steve leaned forward and asked Yuma in a whisper, "Wasn't it supposed to be a thumb drive?"

Yuma turned and had to suppress a giggle, "It's basically the same thing. Like soda and pop."

"Really?"

Jean Grey had noticed the cute exchange between the antiquated man and the green-haired child and couldn't help herself from quipping, '_Like pancakes and waffles_…' albeit, telepathically, so as to not further aggravate the younger redhead.

'_More like catsup and ketchup_.' Prof. Xavier chipped in-telepathically as well.

Kyoko found Steve's look of realization random because it came out of nowhere, but decided to speak against it before repeating her question.

"It's in my coat's front pocket."

Kyoko saw through his ruse, however, because even if it was true or not, Kyoko had to loosen the chains wrapped around him if they were to get a hold of thumb drive.

Professor Xavier intervened so as to placate the fiery nature of the younger redhead, "We shouldn't jump into drastic reactions, Ms. Sakura." He turned to Jean, who nodded in return.

Jean Grey closed her eyes, and used her telekinesis to see if there was a flash drive in Eric's possession. "There is one." She opened her eyes and raised a hand.

Kyoko could feel her chains being loosened up forcibly, but only just a little. She looked at Eric, and he didn't look like he was the one responsible for it.

It didn't last long, but a black flash drive levitated out from Eric and into Jean Grey's hand.

"Now, do you believe me?" Eric Savin had a smug look on his face.

* * *

><p>Maya Hansen was dead. She had succumbed from the wounds she's sustained from the ambush earlier.<p>

Tony figured that Maya Hansen's plan of escape didn't take into account of the several hidden cameras around the room. Tony saw a couple of them of course – Aldrich should update his gear sometime because a few of those cameras hand red blinking lights. Blinking lights that would've only been seen if the camera was focused on you.

Anyway, Tony remembered Maya's words on her final moments, "If you can't see the good in my dream, Tony, then at least leave no trace of it." She smiled tauntingly but bitterly at him before her body just… lost its strength.

He couldn't even give her body a proper burial because of the rain of bullets that followed. Tony Stark was running, those who would see him would think that he was trying to dance too, but what they didn't know was Tony had just sent the signal for his armor to come and get him.

If he had done it earlier… maybe…

No. There was no way his armor would've made it in time. He calculated it. And the gunshots had caught them by surprise.

One thing is for sure, however, he need to deliver justice to Aldrich Killian.

* * *

><p>Hank McCoy was now reading the information – scarce as they are – regarding the virus that has been injected into Pepper Potts. He can't help but highlight certain parts of the current lab records of the virus. The blue-furred man looked at a projected screen of a recent blood sample of Pepper then to another screen that had Maya Hansen's report. "Are you sure this is the current file regarding the virus' findings?"<p>

Eric Savin was still wrapped in chains, but at least he was tied to a chair. Not in their immediate location however: he was chained into a chair in the Danger Room; a room that could handle almost anything you could throw at it. "I dunno. The one who created the project just wanted me to give it to Virginia Potts, so she could hopefully give it to an experienced doctor or something…"

Hank McCoy was safe from harm because he was far away from the guy; he was at the infirmary. He looked at screen that showed Eric Savin's face, before turning back to the blood sample magnified by a super electron microscope. "This doesn't make sense. This lab report states that, at best, anyone subjected to the program would always be at risk of spontaneously combusting because the cell membrane of the cells becomes too erratic due to-" he was interrupted by a tug on his lab coat.

Yuma looked at him, "I think I've got to do something about it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Yuma looked down, "Pepper wasn't feeling well when we rescued her from the bad guys, so I used my magic to make her feel better."

"That…" Hank tilted his head, "…doesn't make sense to me."

Clea appeared beside the girl, "Perhaps, I could explain it better."

As Clea tried to explained what was done to Pepper, the girl in question was with Steve and Professor Xavier at the sickbay.

"Pepper, I have the location of where Tony is now." Steve started, "I could help rescue him."

"No, Steve." Pepper had not once felt bad since Yuma did her magic thingy, "It'll be dangerous. I could go call for help. Stark Industries could…"

"If I might add," The paraplegic man intervened, "S.H.I.E.L.D. tells me that they've joined in the fray."

"How'd you know that?" Pepper asked.

"I'm a telepath, Ms. Potts."

Pepper gave a wiry smile, "Oh yeah…"

"Wait, are you speaking to Director Fury right now?" it was Steve's turn to ask, "Your powers extend that far?"

"More of a telepathic link I've established with the man." The bald man said vaguely. "Anyway, back to the topic at hand: Directory Fury has informed me that he has sent a few agents to… intercept Aldrich Killian and his lackeys."

"And Tony?"

"He will be a priority as well."

"…_about that_!" Everyone in the room jumped when a voice in the intercom.

Pepper recognized the voice, "Tony?" she called out.

"_Over here!_ _I suppose I should give you props for the firewall you have in this place, took JARVIS approximately three minutes to bypass it. Most evil organizations' firewall could only stop JARVIS twenty seconds. Tops._" Everyone turned to look at a holographic screen containing Tony's face.

"_Pepper? I'm supposed to be saving you right now, you know?_"

"Steve and these guys saved me a couple of hours ago," Pepper rushed for the screen, "How about you? Are you okay?" she noticed the injuries on his face.

Tony mumbled a yes before noticing the blue grizzly mutant on the screen, "_Hank McCoy! It's finally nice to meet you! How's our little pet project going along? Was it any good? I've read about your work on the evolutionary theory of the Homo sapien to Homo superior._"

"You've read my work?" The blue furred man asked. "I mean, our joint project has produced very sound and visible results." which is a little code in of itself – the surveillance equipment they've put together did indeed bypass the anti-surveillance technology/magic Kyoko Sakura and Yuma Chitose have.

"_Of course they'd work fine, I had a hand in creating it after all!_" Tony Stark boasted. He then threw him a scientific question; a question that Hank McCoy could not help but entertain.

Pepper had to butt in, "Where are you right now? Seeing as we could see you on the screen, I'm guessing you have a suit on."

"_That doesn't matter._" Tony grinned, "_I have Rhodey here with me and he's got some pretty… intense news. Of course he can't talk to you directly seeing as I'm wearing the suit, but I'll just tell you anyway._"

Everyone looked at him expectantly.

"_Aldrich Killian plans to kidnap our president_. _Oh and he stole Rhodey's suit._" That's the last thing he said before the line got cut.

* * *

><p>Director Nick Fury, in the middle of overseeing all that was happening in the S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, felt a vein in his head appear.<p>

Maria Hill beside him turned to her boss, "Sir?"

"I've just received word that Aldrich Killian plans to kidnap an allied president." S.H.I.E.L.D. normally left these things to their respective authorities, but since Aldrich Killian's posed threat became so great, it was within his organization's jurisdiction to try and contain it.

"Sir?" Maria Hill knew that the only person who Nick Fury allowed to communicate to himself telepathically was the strongest telepath of the world. Rumor has it that the reason why Director Fury is impervious to almost all types of mental attacks and sabotage is not just because of his indomitable will but because he is protected by said strongest telepath. Because of Charles Xavier, even people like Elizabeth Braddock would think twice before entering his mind.

"Open Hawkeye's communication line. His mission will be modified."

"Sir."

* * *

><p>Frank Castle held a cardboard sign. The sign was a code for the person who was supposed to arrive today. He wore a cheap suit and a brown trench coat. His disguise was mostly a pair of shades and a fedora in the muddiest of color. He isn't too worried about someone getting a good look at him because 'The Punisher' doesn't just go out to hold a sign in broad daylight. It's also because those that do know of him are either dead or just know him by his name.<p>

In fact the number of people who know of Frank's… hobby and his alter ego didn't exceed beyond the fingers of a hand. Besides, the person who probably posed a threat in this area would be Wilson Fisk, but Frank has been very careful in showing his face whenever he'd go out and… play.

Finally, the doors opened and a sea of people coming down from the flight emerged into the area. Frank held his sign higher, eyes looking for the person he was waiting for.

The reason why he's in an airport just after breakfast was because of Mami. Or rather, Claire; the girl he'd picked up from Japan. Frank knows that he's way in on his head by taking Mami under his wing; his life revolved around danger. Or rather, his life revolved around him chasing after danger. He knows taking her in would be inviting danger to her. Of course, danger would've still found her if he had left her, but part of him still feels guilty of dragging her deeper into his world.

It also doesn't help that he knew he was trying to find Lisa, his dearly departed daughter, in Mami. He also knew that doing so is a bad thing, but you can't just stop what you feel. Right?

Finally, from the sea of people, he saw the unmistakable platinum locks. While what she wore were simple (sneakers, jeans and a white tee) Silver made quite the impression with her presence alone. In fact, quite a few men had checked her out – a fact that she herself noticed but had coolly ignored. She was dragging one suitcase with her.

Pushing down her sunglasses, she looked at the sign then to Frank, "They say you never forget your time with the Canadian."

"As do the time with the Silver Sable." He replied curtly, establishing the contact.

Silver gave him a once over before tilting her head, "So you're the one my dad wanted me to stay away from."

"My condolences." He simply replied. In the mercenary world, news of the death of the original Silver Sable had spread a couple of months ago. Sure, this girl is not the original, but he's heard of her exploits: like surviving that time in Budapest.

Silver smiled, "Please," she waved a hand, "dad was pretty happy to die on a bed due to his old age. He'd prefer that than being put down by others."

Frank only nodded before turning around, "Let us go." He led her to the exit, "I've already transferred your payment on the account you sent me." Once outside, he led her to a very expensive car.

"I was a bit apprehensive taking this job, even though it's a babysitting gig." She whistled when she saw the car, "But then, I wouldn't expect less from someone of your caliber."

"You're to merely oversee and tutor her," he opened the car's trunk and placed Silver's suitcase there. Frank, the gentleman from time to time, then opened the door her.

When they were both in, and Frank had roared the engine, Silver asked, "You're paying an awful lot for a job this simple."

Frank grinned, "I thought it's because it's from someone of _my_ caliber?"

"You know what I mean," she gave him a dry look.

Frank, as a habit, liked to check the rearview mirror, "This is Fisk's area."

"I see." That was all that was needed to be said. "Anything else I should know?"

"Aside from the masked man named Spider-man? The mutant academy is a couple of minutes from here. There's also that Daredevil guy at Hell's Kitchen and Stark tower is being rebuild after the whole…"

"Alien thing." The girl with platinum-colored hair was looking at all the on-going city-wide reconstruction. "I was chasing this guy in the Chinese border when it happened. Crazy world we live in now, huh?"

Frank could only nod.

* * *

><p>Mami debated between creating another clone to go and patrol around the city. She knew that she really needed to contact either Kyubey or the local girls. Granted, it's only her second day but the absence of Kyubey is alarming her. Well, Kyubey had this habit of showing up when no one expects it, but…<p>

Oh and there's the whole 'Mitakihara-has-become-nonexistent' ordeal. She had google-d about Mitakihara and even Kazamino but such cities apparently no longer existed. The only reasonable explanation she could think of as to why they no longer existed was that a girl wished for it so. But not a lot of girls had the potential to actually make such a wish a reality. It's a possibility, but it a was very unlikely possibility.

Then there are the [Wraiths]. Why have there been no [Wraiths] when she had patrolled before? With her [Cube] reserves, she knew she could last for at least a month - three if she'd conserve them - but without a source of replenishing them, she knew it wouldn't last. Call it paranoid, but she's been able to survive as a solo for so long because Mami liked her facts straight. Of course, she needed to calm down first, because panicking would definitely soil her [Soul Gem] quicker, but it was just too hard when she's caught up in all this confusion. She definitely needed to talk to Kyubey.

There was movement outside of the door followed by a jiggling sound.

Frank had left earlier, telling Mami that he would be meeting up with her tutor.

* * *

><p>"Mr. President," Aldrich Killian greeted the bound man, "It's such an honor to meet you."<p> 


	22. Act 2:5

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: **so far, the Rebellion, Avengers (2012) and Iron Man 3 movie

**A/N: **...overdue update because of #ThesisIt

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p>Homura sat on her rickety chair, nursing a cup of tea. In front of her were four figures, each with a history of tragedy of their own; they were girls who tried to usurp the providence imposed by the Incubator race before the era ushered by her best friend. Usurpers they may be, they failed spectacularly amazing at it. "It's simply really: do what I want you to do, and everyone wins."<p>

The [Demon] turned to one of the figures; a girl whose hair was ashen in color and a smile that was sweet and calculating. "Checked it yourself, Oriko?"

The girl mentioned placed a forefinger on her chin, "It sounds both convenient and vague." She looked around, and summoned a chair too. Compared to Homura, hers was a luxurious, circular chair with soft cushions and silky cloths. "I'm not buying any of it."

"…ah." Homura lowered her cup upon noticing a speck of dirt on her nail, "Of course, your powers have always been looking towards the future, and never to the past."

Oriko saw Homura's earring glint for a moment, and gasped. There was a short sight that flashed in her head, and it could only be surmised as [Ominous Comet]. It was like all the [Curses] of the multiverse was condensed into a single unit. "Wha-"

"An _undone_ memory." Homura simply said. The other three figures kept their silence, believing that Oriko's words encompassed what they felt. Homura cannot believe the irony of it all too, she asking for the help of people she would never ask from in the previous life, and they hearing out what she wanted to say.

"I, no, _we_ still plan to save she who offered salvation." Oriko's words were firm. _From you_ Oriko meant to say but didn't.

"Then, what next? After freeing Madoka, what do you plan to do when Thanos rips her open just to get what she has?" Another irony was how Homura had thoroughly explained their predicament.

"And you think keeping her in her current state is a good thing?" Oriko whispered, tone low. The only reason why the four figures did not attack her was out of the [Goddess]'s attachment to this…piece of _trash_. They did not care that even if they combined their powers, Homura could beat them with her eyes closed.

Homura flipped her hair, "I fight for her happiness."

"That stupid illusion of happiness of yours…" Oriko spat out, her smile not faltering one bit.

_Well, what do you fight for?_ Homura taunted by raising a brow.

"Personally, I fight for all the people who are now lost because of her absence."

"It was not her burden to bear." Homura said evenly, eyes impassive. "And for as long as I exist, I will fight for the life that was robbed from her."

Oriko saw Kyubey, no, the [Incubator] form on Homura's lap. She began to pet the being, but Oriko could see it struggle and shake in fear.

Oriko's and Homura's gazes settled on each other and did not break eye contact. A moment passed and both women let out a huff. _Agree to disagree_

"We've moved away from the topic." Homura composed herself with a smile, "So do we have a bargain?" Two of the four were given a chance to be with a most precious person they have forgotten due to Madoka's [Law of Cycles]; one was given a chance to face Homura with the [Demon] using only half of a half of a _half_ of a percent of her powers, and if Homura lost, Madoka would be freed.

Oriko was the last and the most apprehensive of them all. "Why watch over Tomoe-_san_ and Sakura-_san_?"

"Because," Homura's reply chilled Oriko, "you haven't looked that _far_ ahead, have you?"

* * *

><p>Steve's blue met Kyoko's red. "What are you doing here?" He was staring down at Kyoko, who was acting like he was not there. They were currently in the X-Men's Blackbird, getting ready to save the president.<p>

"Yuma asked me to watch over you." Kyoko said, struggling to open a bag of Lay's chips – no doubt pilfered from the mansion's kitchen. Steve was actually more on the idea of going solo, but Charles Xavier again lent a hand and gave a few of his companions to aid him. Right now, Charles was mobilizing the group accompanying him. Clea was in the corner, kneeling on the ground in front of a map of the country; she was currently scrying for the president's location.

"I don't want you there."

Kyoko was grunting as she tried to pry the bag open. There was a satisfying '_pah_' before Kyoko answered, "Me too, but when Yuma asks me something, and she rarely asks for my help, I try my best to do what she wants."

Steve's blue met Kyoko's red. "It's dangerous."

Kyoko dunked her hand in the bag of chips and fishes a huge piece, "I know, that's why I'm just staying inside."

"I don't think-"

The entrance of the Blackbird opened and in came the rest of the rescue team. Steve looked at Kyoko, who had a smug look on her face.

"We'll talk later." Steve asserted before walking over to the mutant contingent. Steve noted that three of those that accompanied him in saving Pepper was there: Jean Grey, Scott Summers, and Logan. There were two others, the hyper Katherine "Kitty" Pryde and the stoic Piotr. Steve would have wanted Ororo to be there, from a strategic point of view due to her powers, but he'll take whatever help that was offered to him.

"Mr. Summers, I thank you again for your help." He stood upright, a silent confidence exuding from his pores. "I would much rather you guys stay safe but…" he paused before steeling his resolve. He might appear confident, but his stance was that of deference and sincerity. "From the bottom of my heart, thank you."

Scott smiled an easy smile; the hero from his childhood was thanking him. "No problem, Captain. It's not bother too, we wouldn't want to do nothing when we know someone's in danger."

Out of the corner of Steve's eye, Clea looked up from map. In her hand was a clear crystal dangling on a string. "It's actually a win-win situation for the mutant faction if they help a high ranking government official."

Jean Grey tilt her head in response, "Publicity is good for PR I suppose." She looked at Steve with a sure smile, "But even if it was someone we didn't know or someone who could not give anything in return, we wouldn't just sit idly." Jean Grey shifted her gaze to Clea, the redhead's eyes full of resolution, "Besides, mutantkind should use their powers for good. If someone was abusing their powers, the mutantkind would not sit back and let it happen."

"As do the magickind, Ms. Grey." Clean grinned. There was a shift in the air, and the clear crystal dangling on a string dropped on the map. "Found him."

* * *

><p>On the way there, Cyclops and Steve planned. Steve was already looking at the blueprints of the place where the president was kidnapped, "It is poor strategy that they remained in the same place."<p>

Cyclops and Jean were helping Steve plan as they looked at the ship's schematics. The antiquated man's plan sounded safer than his, so he was more than happy to give the reins to Steve. Didn't help the bad guys that Tony was on loudspeaker too, and JARVIS has recently hacked the ship's mainframe in a matter of 8.43 seconds just to get said blueprints. Steve looked over the three-dimensional diagram of the ship, "JARVIS, can you help me pinpoint the exact location of the president."

"Yes sir." Came AI's reply. There was a moment of silence before a red dot appeared on the projected 3D model.

"_It's Killian,_" Tony's reply, "_of course, he'll place it in the tackiest and most villainy-est place possible._"

* * *

><p>Clea and Shadowcat sat beside each other. The white-haired girl was explaining how magic worked, finishing with, "…because I want to teach you; there is a little bit of magic in you."<p>

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Thanks for the offer," Kitty said, "But I'm more of a computer programming kind of gal."

"Why not juggle the two then?" Clea suggested. "You could get a magical Familiar."

"Unless I can get a dragon, then… no." Kitty joked.

Clea frowned and turned to Piotr. The white-haired girl then proceeded to ask if he belonged to a lineage of magic practitioners because he had a faint, latent spark of magic in him.

* * *

><p>Logan looked unsettled as he sat watching Steve and Cyclops. Something at the back of his mind nagged him that he knew the blond man but…<p>

He gruffed and pulled out a cigar from his pocket. He was just about to light it when he caught sight of a pair of pre-teenaged eyes looking at him. "Whacha lookin' at, kid?"

Kyoko looked at him for a few seconds before, "…are you really gonna smoke here?"

"Got a problem with that?"

Kyoko dunked her hand in the bag of chips, "Will you believe me if I told you I have asthma?"

It was Logan's turn to look at her weirdly.

The young redhead threw a few pieces of chips into her mouth, but not after saying, "Me too. But I can't stand the smell of cigars." Kyoko then all-together ignored him as he ignited the cigar.

'_We'll see how smug you are after a Danger Room class session with me.'_

* * *

><p>Despite the Blackbird being one of the fastest means of aerial transport available in the planet, it was already sunset by the time the group reached the place. They lost a few precious minutes of flying because the group also had to pick up Clint along the way.<p>

A few minutes before the group sortied, Steve went over to Kyoko to remind her to stay inside the plane. To be honest, he had forgotten that she boarded the plan because he was whisked away with battle plans and strategies with Jean and Scott, as well as changing into one of the X-men suits for practical purposes. It was irresponsible of him to have forgotten about Kyoko, but he can't do anything about it since they were about to engage the enemy in a few moments.

Kyoko, in response to his reminders, was pretty understanding. Actually, she was being aloof and nonchalant about it, but Steve believed and hoped that she at least understood the seriousness of the situation. After that odd moment of something that could be called 'understanding', Kyoko looked contemplative, but Steve didn't know how to say it to her.

His unasked questions were answered just before they sortied when Kyoko transformed. Steve was just about to say something when Kyoko tapped his arm. To his amazement, a shield not unlike his vibranium one literally grew out from said arm. It was simple in design: deep red in color and shined with a pink sheen. The star design of his shield was replaced into that of the same design as the bejeweled cross she had on her chest.

"What's this?" Steve asked, checking up on the shield.

Kyoko crossed her arms, "Just say thank you. I'd rather not explain it to you."

Most of the people there was intrigued at what she did, but not as intrigued as Clea. "Interesting," she tried tapping the shield with a glowing finger, "High-end conjuring but wait…"

Kyoko huffed, "I've added a few things…" To prove that, Kyoko asked Steve to throw the weapon. When he did, he was surprised to see that her trademark chains appeared from his hands, connecting to the shield. From the shield's trajectory, a pink afterglow followed before fizzling out into tiny twinkling sand.

Clint had to chuckled, "You gave him a _yoyo_."

Kyoko turned to Clint, "I did." She grinned evilly at him before she swatted his forearm. Hawkeye then started to glow. His suit, much to his chagrin started to _sparkle_.

"What the _fu_-"

* * *

><p>Kyoko was left in the plane. When they reached the place, everyone turned serious. Even Clint who was pissed at what has been done to his suit. Of course, Kyoko could just remove the glittering aspect of the blessing she did on his clothes, but where's the fun in that?<p>

When they arrived, Ironman suits were already engaging the Extremis forces.

Kyoko looked out, and realized that Clint's sparkly suit might prove a liability to him seeing as it was just about time for the sun to set. Much as she wanted him to sparkle some more for making fun of her magic, his safety came first. Closing her eyes, she concentrated and reached out to the magic on him. After doing so, she removed the effect she placed on his suit. It was more of an aesthetic effect set on default, but cancelling the sparkling effects cost her a little more of her magic. This was one of those moments when she hated being a [Magical Girl]; their magic might be very practical, it was still very showy.

Clint sour mood lightened when he saw that he no longer _freaken_ twinkled like Christmas light.

Steve went over to their roles; like before, they would split into two teams. Cyclops would lead the mutants while Steve, Clint and Clea would be teamed up. Steve's team would be to draw the attention while Cyclops and his team would focus on knocking out as much people as possible.

Before they left the ship, Cyclops and Jean Grey gave a special task to Kitty. With her powers, she would be the one who would free the president. Kyoko was actually surprised to see her powers firsthand; she phased out of the ship. To Kyoko, who's pretty sure that she's seen all types of [Puella Magi] powers, intangibility was a rare power among her kind. Not a lot of girls [Wished] to be erased, after all.

When they've clarified their roles, Steve opened the hatch and jumping out of the plane.

* * *

><p>Cyclops and Clint were on two different points near the ship. They were stationed high up because they were in-charge of handling those that might prove to be difficult contain, like those who brought out big guns or were in the verge of spontaneously combusting.<p>

Cyclops powers proved to be seriously devastating to them because his optic blasts seemed to overload their powers and ended up overheating them. The soldiers, upon being fired at, would start to glow bright orange and scream in pain before passing out. He was actually more happy that they simply passed out rather that outright explode because he's seen those people who just spontaneously combusted due to overexerting their powers or due to the Ironman suits. At least, those he knocked out can still live.

Clint's improved suit was begrudgingly awesome. Sparkling aside, it was _sturdy_; like, strong enough to only inflict bearable discomfort when a guy literally exploded three feet from his face. _'Great, now I have to thank Kyoko later_.' And Clint could already imagine the smirk on her face. He was just about to run out of arrows when he felt something heavy form behind him. Reaching behind, he found out that he had a quiver full of arrows appearing out of thin air. Not thinking too much of it, Clint could only guess that this was another feature of the thing Kyoko did to his suit. '_Damn you, Kyoko..._'

* * *

><p>On the ground, Steve and Clea engaged the foes on one side with Colossus and Wolverine in another.<p>

Steve could actually concentrate on his fights with the enemies because the portion of his mind that calculated the trajectory of his shield were put on a break simply because he used the chains as a way to retrieve it. The chains that appeared whenever he threw his shield took some getting used to but it did offer flexibility and utility outside of his original projectile weapon. Aside from a way to retrieve his shield, he also used the chains to ensnare the unsuspecting.

Clea's magic was of great use in the skirmish; it was her that actually scattered the enemy formations. Her skillset counted as both frontal assault and back support. She erected barriers, hurled exploding balls of light, rained down lightning, and confused enemies with tricks and illusions. It was through her participation that the group of eight managed to route the enemies quickly.

If this was a game, Wolverine and Colossus played the role of the tank; they soaked up a good percentage of the bullets that were aimed at their group. Wolverine, while speedy, was actually the slower one to reach his enemies. This was because, while he regenerated the injuries he sustained, regenerating slows him down because it simply _hurt._ Colossus on the other hand, while impervious to the bullets, found that while he had a near-impenetrable defense, his offensive capabilities simply lack in unpredictability against super-powered men and women with military hand-to-hand training. While Colossus was great in wrestling, and a good fist in a brawl, these men and women are just better trained and experienced. While Colossus and Wolverine, simply fell short in contributing in the physical-offensive aspect of the assault, Steve would tell them that they _did_ contribute; taking most of the shots that would have otherwise been targeted at them.

Still, after this skirmish, Piotr would train harder in hand-to-hand. He would also beg Steve to teach him how to fight. And this would led to the two of them establishing a student-teacher friendship.

* * *

><p>In the air, Jean Grey multitasked. She took up the role of keeping those that Cyclops knocked unconscious out of commission – it was within her abilities because of her telepathy and telekinetic powers. She also served as the team's set of eyes and ears. Since she levitated high above the air, she had an unobstructed view of the flow of the battle. She used her telepathy to peek into the minds of the enemy. Plans, strategies and surprise attacks were rendered obsolete thanks to Jean's participation. Normally, Jean would be adverse to read into other people's minds, but these people were the willing participants in the deplorable acts of one Aldrich Killian. Not only did she use her telepathy to read the surface thoughts of their enemies, she also played as the communication line between her team. Lastly, just like the battle earlier, she overrode the wills of those who tried to shoot bullets at her and her allies. With her participation in the battle, her team managed to secure an even cleaner victory.<p>

Also, in the air, Tony's suits contained the battle in the area. Sure they were expendable now, but it's because of their numbers that Steve's team was not overwhelmed like when the group of heroes tried rescuing Pepper.

The creator of said suits, Ironman, was engaging with Aldrich Killian. With the morale of the enemy dropping with the unannounced participation of these group of metahumans, Ironman was able to focus more on his rival.

* * *

><p>In the shadows, Shadowcat slipped through wall after wall. Scott has told her that her role would be the most vital amongst them all in this rescue mission; what use would be all of this diversion if none of them were participating in the actual rescuing? Currently, she was on a phonecall with JARVIS on her earpiece. She was being instructed by the AI on how to get to the president.<p>

So far she hasn't been discovered, and Kitty would rather keep it that way. However, when she got to where the president was located, Kitty could just groan. "This Aldrich guy has got to be the most stereotypical villain I've ever met." The president was dangling on cable on a considerably deadly height. Kitty felt that this guy would not be against the idea placing a pool of lava or boiling tar if he had the time and resources to do it.

Still, she needed get to the president down. And the only way to get the president to go down was either cutting the cable or…

'_Jean?_'

* * *

><p>The president of the United States groggily regain consciousness. He awoke to the sound of shots being fired. Odd thing is, surprisingly, he has not yet gotten shot. Blearily opening his eyes, he saw a young lady floating towards him. Odder still was how bullets seemed to pass over her.<p>

"Mr. President, I'm here to break you out."

He groaned, his voice a little hoarse, "…I'd like that, thank you very much." He cleared his throat before motioning to the cable wrapped on his wrists, "but my hands are tied."

The young woman simply smiled, "Don't worry. I've got that covered." She reached over at him, and there was this eccentric sense of feeling that came to him. When he realize what happened, his hand was free and he was quite literally hovering in the air. He looked around, and saw that most of the people stationed to his place was shooting bullets at them, but none of them seemed to hit them.

"How-what's happening? How are you doing that?"

The young lady grinned, "We're mutants, Mr. President." She then pointed at another woman, a redhead, floating afar, "It's kinda what we do."

* * *

><p>Yuma was with Hank McCoy as he edited the notes of this researcher Maya Hansen. With the two were Bobby Drake and Eric Savin. Hank McCoy asked Bobby to accompany him to the Danger Room to where Eric was located. After Yuma sort of explained what she did to Pepper, Hank McCoy was in the state of mind where he thinks everything would be explained if he got a sample of the un-magic-ed version of the virus and compared it to Pepper's blood sample. To do that, he had to procure the blood sample of someone with the virus, hence why he was in the Danger Room with their captive and Bobby – who, he hypothesized, would cool down Eric in the case of him starting to spontaneously combust. Yuma snuck herself in, and Hank only realized she was there when he was preparing the get Eric's blood samples.<p>

"I wanna watch, Mr. Kitty." Yuma told him.

Bobby smirked at Hank, "Mr. _Kitty_?"

Hank ignored the young man and turned to Eric Savin, "May I take a few samples of your blood?"

Eric Savin, who was still chained in the chair agree, "…but only if you get these chain off o' me."

Hank grinned, which looked predatory to Eric, in his honest opinion. "In that case," he then instructed Bobby to freeze Eric's legs. After that, Hank turned to Yuma and asked if she would be able to remove the chains.

"I can try," Yuma said, before transforming. She then placed a glowing hand on the chains before the chains simply disappeared.

Bobby, who was still getting over to this kid literally changing outfit in the flash of light, asked as the chains vanished without a trace, "What just happened?"

"Magic…" Hank and Eric said in unison.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously," Yuma said proudly, puffing out her chest.

Hank could only chuckle at Bobby's expression as Yuma explained what she was and what she was capable of. He was about to insert the needle that would get his blood sample when Eric abruptly started to glow and steam.

"What's wrong?" Hank place a hand on his forehead, only to reel it back because it simply _burned_.

"I… I.. _argh!_" The ice on his legs evaporated quickly, and his eerie glow flared and became a blinding light.

"Don't tell me…" Hank muttered.

"What's happening?" Bobby asked.

"We have to get out of here?"

"Why?"

"He's-" the blue-furred man stopped what he was saying when Yuma stepped in front them. The greenette summoned her staff and pointed it to the glowing man. A soothing green glow spread from the paw-designed tip of her staff.

There was a pause, and somehow, when everything settled down, Eric was gasping for air. Most of his clothes were reduced to crispy rags of cloth and steam was hissing from his flesh.

Yuma looked over to Beast, and realized he was nursing a burned hand. Before the adult could saying anything about it, Yuma did what she did impulsively. Amazingly, the flesh on Beast's hand started to repair, and the sensation it felt was both awkward and ticklish at best. What's odd however, was-

Bobby, for the umpteenth time since coming down from the mansion, had his jaw on the floor. "Hank you're… _molting!_"

Molting? His blue fur simply fell off, and his paws started to shift back into… _hands?_

"Yuma!? What's-" whatever he was about to say died because what he saw made him stop; Yuma was unconscious on the ground.

* * *

><p>"This was not how things were supposed to happen," Aldrich Killian watched as his forces were driven into a corner. He was supposed to win, supposed to rule, and supposed to dominate. "My serum-"<p>

"_Your_ serum?" Ironman barked, "It was never _your _serum." And to think that earlier, Tony seriously considered this delusional guy as his rival. "You'd never, not in a million years, be able to have thought, much less made, something like the Extremis." While he acknowledged that Aldrich, in his own way, might be gifted, but he leeched off of others. "You're not smart, dedicated and ambitious enough."

His quip earned the ire of Aldrich, who started to glow orange.

"Okay, maybe ambitious." Tony taunted. Aldrich's intellect was not on the level of Tony's peers, although 'peers' would be the really loose term of it; Tony hated Hank Pym's guts, is sorta okay with Hank McCoy, has never seen T'Challa face-to-face, is unnerved with Charles Xavier, doesn't like Reed Richards at all… and Maya Hansen's dead. There was quite a list of the female geniuses he dated who now outright hate him. There's also Peter Parker, who is still simmering, while Amadeus Cho is just about to get there. With Stephen Strange's reappearance, Tony hated him more, especially with that cape of his that made him look like a total tool (and no, he's not _jealous_, at all). Lastly, he doesn't know what happened to Michael Morbius and Walter Langkowski. And, that's just talking about the 'good' guys. In fact, among those who Tony knows could be match his awesomeness, his only friend would be with his bro Bruce Banner, with Hank McCoy being his sorta playmate. It sort of irritates him too that Bruce considers Michael Morbius as his best _genius_ friend, and not him–the great Tony Stark.

He reciprocated Aldrich Killian's hard gaze, "Okay, for making me think of those other douchebags, I'm thinking of blowing you up now."

* * *

><p>"That was…" Tony paused to think for the proper word. He and Aldrich fought for a while, and he may have been cornered earlier, but then Steve's <em>yoyo<em> with chains of _lameness_ came out of nowhere to bound Aldrich Killian in place. Then, this Cyclops guy fired a beam of red _lame_ light at Killian which ended with Killian screaming in pain before passing out. Tony had his mouth on the floor when this _hot_ redhead floated down to where Killian was unconscious and did something _not lame_ to him – she later explained that she was keeping her unconscious. "…anticlimactic."

After that, an irritated Clint appeared, with a _sparkling_ suit of awesomeness appeared. He said that S.H.I.E.L.D. would be taking things from here. Tony then said that he would be neutralizing the Extremis virus present in those who did not perish in the battle. It only took him fifteen minutes to create the antivirus, with the help of JARVIS. The antidote was even now sitting on Stark Tower where their group would be making a stop first.

The president was picked up by some suited men earlier, with the man becoming particularly thankful to this girl named Kitty. Rhodey went with the president, telling Tony something about meeting again later.

Currently, Tony was reduced to ogling at the buttons inside the Blackbird's cockpit. "Interesting ride, you've got here." Cyclops only gruffed because earlier Tony had tried to flirt with his girlfriend. Jean, while flattered, only raised a brow at Tony's antics before mildly implying that it was within her powers to mind rape him just to get his most embarrassing memory.

There was also that Kyoko girl, but just when he was about to talk to her, Steve was already in front of her, apparently giving the girl a huge sermon about irresponsibility. Tony wanted to stick his nose there, but before he could both Steve and Kyoko gave him a harsh stare that made him retreat.

* * *

><p>After dropping off Clint and the rest of the vaccinated Extremis prisoners at Start Tower, Clea had announced that she would now be teleporting the Blackbird and its passengers back into the X-Mansion. It took her approximately twenty second to do so. Upon teleporting them, Clea earned the undisguised interest of Tony Stark. Clea had been more than happy to try and explain what she did, but her explanation (using runic structures and magical energy) did not meet Tony's scientific mind. It was such a bummer for Tony too because he might have been able to create a teleporting device that could revolutionize transportation if he understood leylines and chalked theorems.<p>

His disappointment only lasted for less than a minute because upon returning to the parking area of the Blackbird, he immediately started demanding that he go see Pepper. Cyclops felt his eyebrow twitch upon looking at this man-child's antics.

When he got to the X-Men's underground sickbay, he finally had his moment with Pepper.

* * *

><p>Similarly, in the sickbay, most of the mutants returning from the field found themselves surprised at seeing Hank McCoy. He was…<p>

"You're _normal_." Kitty said, looking at him from head to toe. Gone was his feline-gorilla features and in it was a man with cropped short hair, a pale complexion and... a dimple of his right cheek. The only features Kitty remember from Hank were his eyes and that lab coat of his. More importantly, "You're wearing _shoes!"_

Hank McCoy knitted his brow in irritation, before smiling a little, "I'm not normal, actually. I checked and I still have the mutant gene in my blood, and aside from my claws and fangs missing, I've still got my heightened abilities." What he wanted to say is how he tried to play around the Danger Room like a child playing in a playground.

"What happened?" Jean asked.

"Yuma-" Hank started before being interrupted by Kyoko.

"What _happened?_" it was the younger redhead's turn to ask. Steve looking as harshly at Hank like Kyoko.

Doctor Strange appeared before Kyoko and walked over to Yuma's unconscious form. The greenette was on a cot, still transformed. "Magical exhaustion, I'd diagnose, but something's different," he moved a glowing green hand over Yuma's head, "her [Soul] is being corrupted."

Upon that explanation, Kyoko let out a sigh. This usually happened to healer-types, using their powers to the point of exhausting their powers; it was a miracle that Yuma hasn't been collected by the [Law of Cycles].

"I've only seen this type of corruption to those who made deals with higher beings," Doctor Strange looked at Kyoko, "Have you two… sold your [Soul]s?"

Kyoko could only hiss something incoherent before walking over to Yuma, "Turn her around."

Clea wanted to reprimand Kyoko for her disrespect, but didn't. Both she and her teacher nodded and did what Kyoko said because it appeared that the girl knew what she was doing.

With Yuma turned, Kyoko raised the child's back hair to see her nape, revealing a dimly glowing gem. It was almost black in color except for a faint green glow.

Everyone watched as Kyoko transformed and pull out a handful of black cubes from her pockets. She placed them on a nearby table and began the tedious work of purifying her [Soul Gem].

"Fascinating!" Doctor Strange exclaimed as he could faintly feel an exchange of power between Yuma and those cubes. "What are those?"

"[Grief Cubes]."

"What do they do?" Hank asked, watching as Kyoko used cube after cube. It came slowly, but the black gem attached to Yuma's name started to turn greener.

Clea casted a diagnostic spell over at Yuma, "It's… lessening the corruption of her [Soul]. This is…"

"_Groundbreaking_." Doctor Strange whispered, awestruck. Corruption of the [Soul] is the final inevitability of avatars who sell their soul to higher beings. Whether it be demons or dimensional creatures, once you give yourself in exchange of power, the only conclusion to such situations is to be destroyed or become a shadow of yourself.

Doctor Strange looked at those cubes: with those, maybe he could help Baron Mordo. Or anyone whose clock was slowly ticking. "Kyoko, would you mind if I…" he began reaching for pile of cubes before him.

"No." Kyoko said, not stopping from what she was doing.

"But think of all the mages you could help with-"

"No."

"But-"

"_No_." Kyoko looked at him finally. She had a harsh look on her face, and her [Killing Intent] was admirable.

"But why?" Doctor Strange asked in frustration.

"Because," aside from becoming punished (or disposed) by Kyubey should it found out, "because those who sell their souls had it coming for them."

"That's very hypocritical of you to say." Doctor Strange crossed his arms in contempt.

Kyoko returned her gaze back to Yuma and resumed purifying her [Soul Gem], "There's always a price for magic. And those who try to cheat that rule ended up in far worse fates than deaths." Kyoko could name a few, like the [White Assassin], the [Azure Gauntlets] of Australia, and the tragic [Sword and Shield] duo of Okinawa. Messing up the [Wishing System] of Kyubey always ended up blowing up in her fellow [Puella Magi]s' faces. She turned to Doctor Strange with a glint of pure smugness, "Wasn't there something you exchanged to get your magic? Something robbed from you when you set your path to [Magic]?"

"That's-"

"And before you even try of stealing my [Grief Cubes] from me," Doctor Strange and Clea found themselves wrapped in chains. Caught off-guard, Doctor Strange realized that these chains dampened his magic. "They are _ours_."

"Why you-"

"I wouldn't do that, Clea." Kyoko taunted, summoning numerous lances and spears, their bladed tips dipped in pinking purple fires. They were zigzagging but most of them were aimed at the two magicians.

"Kyoko, stop this." Steve called out, taking a step forward. When no chains nor lance came, he took another, until he was beside Kyoko.

"I'm not yet done, Steve." Kyoko didn't bother looking up, her focus still on Yuma. "I'm almost done, actually." She burned through five cubes before Yuma opened her eyes.

"_Onee-chan_?"


	23. Stasimon: The Stationary Song 2

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: in order:** the Rebellion, Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 movie, and now Captain America: Winter Soldier

**A/N: **...overdue update because of #ThesisIt. Ofcourse Mami discovers the location of the Morlocks :D Also, this story now has 100 favorites, thank you guys for your support! It really helps with the confidence boost

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p>Teamwork among the [Puella Magi] of Earth is, in fact, a fairly recent phenomena. Believe it or not, it started sometime before and during the hippie vibe in the 1960s. With girls of differing potentials and abilities, working together should be ideal. But then you mix in hormones, personalities, greed, and general pettiness, it just doesn't work. Before the 1960s, girls had to battle for their territory, with the strongest girl keeping their place and the losing girl being collected by the [Law of Cycles] or (very rarely) moving to another place.<p>

In fact, the reason why it was called [Law of Cycles] is because the defeat of the previous owner marked a new cycle for the territory. It was basically tradition especially because those who are collected by the [Law of Cycles] do so with a smile on their face.

Back to teamwork: with the end of World War II, the miasma on the world was on an all-time high. With [Walpurgisnacht] being negated by Madoka's [Wish], the world came to know despair in a magnitude quite different from the original multiverse. After Madoka's [Wish], it was not uncommon for desolate cities to become so overrun by [Wraiths] that they bleed into the neighboring areas after the war. Kyubey would inform an inquisitive [Puella Magi] named Lena from Poland that during those times, he originally contracted as much girls as he can in order to preserve the world – the quota that would have been lost would be substantial otherwise.

Those that he contracted managed to control the wraith population, but it was a sloppy affair at best. Due to human greed, after these girls managed to control the population of the [Wraiths], they soon turned the conflict on each other because of the lack of [Grief Cube] supply. It did not help that most of the time, even the victors themselves ended up being collected by the [Law of Cycles] themselves. After World War II, the average lifespan of a contracted girl was between three to six months regardless of potential due to the in-fighting among these girls. There was the occasional girl who lived longer than that, and the few exceptional who get married and started a family, and the very unique rarity of passing-on 'naturally' in their middle age because the strain their [Soul Gem] is subjected to in maintaining their bodies outweigh the rate in which she could purify it.

There are those that used their magic to maintain their youthful appearance but they did not last longer due to the strain of magic used to maintain their appearance. It was well within a girl's potential to maintain their youthful appearances; all it takes is a bit of magic to make their bodies fitter aesthetically. Still, at the end they would still be using magic from their [Soul Gem] – Magic that should she's better off conserving.

Anyway, upon gathering socio-behavioral information from the 1960s, the Incubator race curbed their strategy with their contractees; only when the current [Puella Magi] was exhibiting signs of being collected were Kyubey to contract other girls. This strategy has definitely earned Homura's surprise, especially since Kyubey of this multiverse has also started to only prefer contracting girls with stable personalities and behavior. Another girl from Trinidad and Tobago would ask why, and Kyubey would inform her that stable girls were more likely to teach newly contracted girls. This type of relationship, at the end, proved to be fruitful in delivering somewhat above the quota line. Very rarely was the mentally unstable girl contracted because they were more trouble than they were worth, and an even rarer feat was a stable girl becoming unbalanced after their [Wish], but these girls never lasted for a while because of the faster rate of pollution of their [Soul Gem].

The Incubators' behavior was very different from the original multiverse; what was once a manipulative race that contracted girls left and right turned into that of a calculating yet efficient race more concerned with earning their quota by keeping veteran girls alive. At first, this was a novelty to Homura. But then again, Madoka's [Wish] had the best intentions at heart, and Homura was begrudgingly glad that something good came out of it; doesn't mean that she'll be releasing Madoka from her prison, though.

The strategy of keeping an experienced girl alive for as long as possible has proven to be a superior approach rather than contracting the girl with the most potential because despite having so much potential, an uneducated green recruit with overwhelming force will still lose to an experienced veteran with average abilities. This new information would again surprise Homura because basically, the Incubator race no longer sought out girls with amazing potential but rather girls who could serve them for a long time while teaching the newer generation. It made it look like the Incubator race no longer viewed humanity as livestock but more of a useful-yet-disposable tool. Another begrudgingly good effect of Madoka's sacrifice. In that same metaphor, they were keen to keep the tool as useful as possible and would only seek out a replacement at the first sign of depreciation. Again, this was a novelty to Homura.

In the 1950s, the tradition of being collected by the [Law of Cycles] diminished considerably. Kyubey, however, noticed a new behavior among the contractees; these girls were learning that a new contractee made the veterans believe that their time was coming up. Thus, the once harsh [Law of Cycles] became something of 'passing of the crown'. Humorously, a contracted girl who worked for Cataline Swimwear would found inspiration on the [Law of Cycles] to spearhead the pageantry known as 'Miss Universe' sometime in 1952. Sadly, the [Law of Cycles] would now be known as a 'curse' that made a contracted girl despair faster than normal. Good thing contractees believe that the [Law of Cycles] was benevolent in nature, at least according to those that dedicated their time studying it.

The relationship between teacher and student was a subdued affair, with a green recruit being idealistic while the teacher behaved in a way that tempered the recruit's idealism with mortality. It was literally an eye opener for the recruit during those times to see their teacher be collected by the [Law of Cycles].

For a few years, this was the creed upon which these girls lived on; a new recruit by Kyubey meant that their time drew nearer. The beginning of that line of thinking marked an outrage among the veterans; they refused to believe that they lived a timed life, and some outright refused to teach the new generation with the very rare article of the veteran killing the green recruit. Ironically, these girls ended up getting collected faster than the girls who resigned to teach the newer generation. It was only upon the mark of the decade's end that this line of thinking changed. Everyone questioned why Kyubey contracted new recruits, but no one decided to ask if it was still possible to still live a normal life, a little bit longer, or without fear of vanishing. If they did, maybe these girls led a much better life. These veterans' only respite was how the [Law of Cycles] was benevolent in nature, leaving them smiling happily before their time came.

At the start of the decade of the 1960s, a veteran would usually teach one green recruit, very occasionally were there two, while three was never heard off. Kyubey believed that having learned from the past, an experienced girl would fare better in a city than a group of fresh recruits who would, most likely, end up fighting each other when the supply of [Grief Cubes] were scarce. During that time, the organizational norm was to maintain a one-duo-one-city policy (the duo being composed of a veteran and a student). It was no problem if the recruit would were to move to a new city; this was what the Incubator race anticipated, and the reason why some veterans taught two girls, but if it was the veteran who moved, the neighboring veteran usually juggled two territories.

Turns out, the Incubator's race did not account for the exponential growth of the human race's birthrate during this decade. Kyubey would think that their approach on controlling [Wraiths] proved too much effective that it exponentially made the Earth a very habitable place for humans to reproduce in. Surprised at the human race's ability to adapt, what was once a city whose [Wraith] population was managed by one veteran and her student, became a city teeming with an unmanageable number of [Wraiths] barely contained by two girls. High birthrates led to in-fighting for basic necessities and luxuries, which led to despair, which led to [Wraiths]. Incidentally, the effects of these numerous [Wraiths] may have led to the people of the era indulging into the recreational use of drugs.

At this point, the semblance of normalcy marked by the Incubator race and the [Puella Magi] was pushed to the edge; veterans usually abandoned their territory (usually after the death of their student) for something safer, only to end up with survivor's guilt that made it easy for the [Law of Cycles] to collect them. In comparison, when the veteran died first, the students died valiantly after being overwhelmed by the [Wraiths]. Very rarely would a single girl survive, especially that of a new recruit, but as the humans say; it's better to learn in adversity than one in safety.

Due to the population explosion, the norm for contractees was to only live for the next three skirmishes at best, especially if these contractees did not have a veteran to teach them. It has gotten so worse, that the Incubator race thought of repeating history, that is, contracting as much girls as he can again.

Then came a shining beacon of light: [Adelina the Leader] in Kosovo. Homura, upon viewing Adelina's history, was much like Madoka; she was a normal girl who led a normal life until the fateful day when she got lured into the lair of a [Wraith]. The [Wraith]'s lairs were similar to that of a [Witch's Barrier], but it was less personalized. Like Madoka, Adelina was saved by the veteran [Puella Magi] of the territory, upon which Kyubey informed both veteran and Adelina that Adelina had the potential.

Adelina, at first, did not buy the story, so the veteran invited her to a few hunts. As she saw more and more about the selflessness of the veteran's actions, she became more and more accepting of the eventuality of it all. It was very similar to what Madoka went through, but the divergence lies when the veteran got collected by the [Law of Cycles] before Adelina's very eyes.

The death of the veteran was a bittersweet affair; one moment the city's protector was crying uncontrollably and the next it was like something benevolent came over veteran and purge the sadness in her eyes, making her pass on with a smile of her face. Then again, in the original multiverse, Madoka usually saw Mami die fighting Charlotte. Anyway, with the veteran out of commission, there was no one left to handle the [Wraiths] in Kosovo, thus leading Adelina making her wish. And her wish was….

"I wish to become a leader!"

She told this Kyubey resolutely, raven-colored hair billowing in the wind.

"I wish to become a leader of a group of [Puella Magi], girls who would become my friends and who would keep my city safe from harm."

Adelina's veteran may not have been the strongest, but she imparted Adelina with the need to properly voice out her [Wish]. Of course, it might be through sheer dumb luck, but the end is all that mattered.

And thus, Adelina became a normal girl to a girl that would revolutionize the [Puella Magi] culture. After her first skirmish, Kyubey contracted a new girl whose abilities was supportive in nature. That same day, a travelling [Magical Girl] came to Kosovo. Adelina's wish increased Adelina's charisma so much that the travelling girl felt compelled to believe in following Adelina's desire for a team. Mind control, Adelina's enemies said.

For three consecutive nights, Adelina and the two proved to be such a good match against the once unmanageable number of [Wraiths] in Kosovo that the travelling girl would tell this to girls on all the places that she visited. The next day, Adelina asked Kyubey if there were other girls willing to contract. Kyubey said yes, and as a social experiment, gave Adelina two more recruits.

The five girl team, would become the first [Puella Magi] team since Joan of Arc.

When the visiting girl would leave, she would then spread around that teamwork really does keep you alive, and she too would work with a team of hers. Adelina's contribution was leadership that converted even the most temperamental of girls into fighting for a single banner. The skeptics would say she could brainwash others. It did not matter because Adelina would become the leader for not only the whole of Kosovo, but for all of Europe by 1970. Word would spread of her prowess in leading, and more and more girls would follow her footsteps in working together. And when she would be collected by the [Law of Cycles] in 1980, her teachings has been so ingrained in Europe that the even with her passing, teams would still be present and would still be created. In fact, Naoko Takeuchi may or may not have been inspired to create her series due to a hazy memory of five girls working together to fight a mass of huge shadows once, when she came under the influence of [Wraiths].

Kyubey, running through its calculations, estimated that her teachings would not last, the human race's problem lied on the fact that they're far too adaptive to change for their own good. Humanity also had the uncanny ability of changing for the worse during peace. Still, Adelina's teachings proved the best approach of them all so far: working together.

To better preserve what Adelina revolutionized, the Incubator race has deemed it fit to maintain a slightly unbalanced ratio between the number of [Wraiths] being born and number of contractees. For as long as there is a slight disadvantage between their contractees against their [Wraith] counterparts, teamwork would still be present in the [Puella Magi] agenda. Teamwork meant less deaths on their contractees and a better and effective way of earning their quota.

That did not mean, however, that battles for territorial rights lessened. Now, _team_ skirmishes happened. But that's for another story.

* * *

><p>Homura closed her book after reading the statistical mean of multiverse's timelines with regards to the [Puella Magi] of Earth. Of course, Homura believed it to be poetic to let it end while it was still good for [Puella Magi] because humanity has this amazing ability of making things worse.<p>

Of course, after usurping Madoka, the Incubator race will never know what would happen to the [Puella Magi]'s history seeing as she's sealed a good chunk of them.

"Homura, focus!"

The [Demon] looked up and saw Madoka pouting at her…

Sayaka was beside Madoka, sipping her iced coffee through a straw, eyes looking at her smartphone. The bluenette was ranting about Kyosuke being a bothersome boyfriend for Hitomi earlier.

Madoka used the fork she held in her hand to point at Homura's soufflé, "I wanna try yours next!"

* * *

><p>On his way to his maximum security prison, the guards on duty passed out. Aldrich Killian looked a little hopeful that someone, probably from A.I.M., was out to save him. Only-<p>

"Well, well…" His voice was deep, sardonic and haughty.

In the darkness of his cell in the van, no one heard Aldrich Killian scream. No one saw, not even on the camera feed, the ten glittering rings of different colors before Aldrich Killian expired.

When the search party of S.H.I.E.L.D. arrived to check on the transport, they would find a group of unconscious guards, and an Aldrich Killian who died with a scream on his face.

* * *

><p>Steve Rogers now had a running partner. The only and living survivor of the Extremis project defected and became an asset to S.H.I.E.L.D. That was the only way for Eric Savin to have kept his powers. The psychiatric help that sorted out Eric Savin pointed out that his sense of self-worth was tied to his abilities. Take that away and Eric Savin would become a husk of his original self.<p>

With JARVIS destroying any trace of projects in the world, even that of the X-Men's database, he (unlike his fellow Extremis participants) was given a choice. Work for S.H.I.E.L.D. or lose Extremis. With Hank McCoy and Tony Stark both telling that it was literally impossible to recreate the project thanks to Yuma altering the virus inside Eric, Nick Fury wanted to see if he can get another metahuman in his fold.

Naturally, Eric Savin's answer was obvious.

Integrating back to society took quite some time. Charles Xavier took it personally to be the one who gave Eric the go signal, and Eric spent at least a dozen sessions with him before he was deemed fit to be back into the world with a handler.

Said handler was Steve Rogers. What better way than to see if Xavier's remedial conditioning work than with his original client? Also, Nick Fury may or may not have thrown it at the Captain face that this would be the payment for getting a new apartment; somewhere still near Xavier's school but more private than before.

Among Steve, Yuma and Kyoko, only Kyoko was the one who Eric walked on eggshells. The young redhead has made it very clear that she did not trust him one bit.

Interestingly enough, Yuma would inform Eric that her _onee-chan_ was merely being a _tsundere_. Which lead to Eric googling what it meant, to him getting along well with the greenette. Then Eric learned that it was because of Yuma that the Extremis virus inside of him had become stable and impossible to recreate. The magic she did on him had made the virus mutate in such a way that it would be close to impossible to recreate it purely on genetic engineering alone. This fact was what gave Nick Fury the option of letting it remain on him in exchange for his services.

Basically, it was what kept Eric Savin on a leash, but whatever. Eric treated Yuma like the little sister he never had, and treat her like a little sister he did; he indulged in whatever it was Yuma wanted while teasing her mercilessly.

Steve, however, would grow to envy the close sibling-like relationship between Eric and Yuma. Kyoko, observing him would roll her eyes. While Steve was the clueless _oni-san_, Eric was the '_onii-chan' _complete with that '_moe_' expression and an '_ahoge_' for the girl if it fit. This led to Steve behaving like any male: becoming stupidly competitive. Anything Steve and Eric did together, Steve wanted to do it better than Eric, whether it be running, sparing, or the rare mission with S.H.I.E.L.D. Steve even competed for Yuma's affections _especially_ during dinnertime.

"Urgh…" Kyoko grunted, '_my life is a shoujo manga_.'

* * *

><p>Mami's first day in her all-girls school was, to say the least, interesting.<p>

Frank let him decide between a posh, all-girls school and that of a still-posh but less prestigious school. Mami took the latter; it was bad enough she had to go in an alias and keep up appearances, she would rather not be with a bunch of prideful, stuck-up bitchy girls rolling in cash. She's had her fair share of that from her colleagues, thank you very much.

Turns out, posh is a much diluted term, because upon arriving at their school, Mami came to realize how heavy the security was. Throes and throes of men in suits, with ear pieces and barely concealed guns greeted her eyes. And then there were the kids; mostly stuck-up and full of themselves. With the occasional gem among stones.

"Silver," she said in her accented English, "just what is this place?" Silver had been teaching her for almost a month now, and she was just getting used to it. On an alias, she was to go here under a pseudo student-exchange. Frank played a frequently traveling businessman while Mami played 'Claire,' a recently orphaned girl taken by her uncle from Japan. "And why are they looking at me?"

Silver grinned, "It's because of _me_ actually. They look at you because of me." Silver noticed that those who noticed her were probably mercenaries or bodyguards-for-hire. It was a rarity for the Silver Sable to end up with a babysitting job. And these mercenaries were to probably think that 'Claire' was either really important or disgustingly rich.

This was the school for the prestigious and infamous because the school's clientele catered to politicians, diplomats and drug lords. In fact, this school was specifically chosen because of the ceasefire agreement they had on the good and bad sides. Basically, the school was a well-guarded neutral ground where the good and bad people can focus on becoming 'parents' without fear of being killed.

'_This is quite different from those elite schools I read from mangas._' Mami mused.

* * *

><p>"Okay Steve," Yuma said, sitting on the sofa, "what do you want to know?"<p>

It was the day after Kyoko's episode with Stephen Strange and Clea. The whole affair was awkward at best, with the two Japanese girls vanishing after the commotion the caused, not that Steve blamed them. The blond might have only understood a small portion of the magic talk Kyoko exchanged with Stephen Strange and Clea, but he got this feeling that Kyoko was on the right this time. He did disapprove of what the young redhead did to the two adults, but Steve does not blame her for what she did.

"What can you tell me?" Steve said, looking over at Kyoko, who had her [Soul Gem] in her egg form. It glowed brightly just after Kyoko told him that she would be warding the place with her magic. Yuma told Steve that the warding included a spell that prevented the conversation from being eavesdropped.

The fact that Yuma _and_ Kyoko would permit the asking questions about their past made Steve believe that the three were definitely opening up to each other. Especially to Kyoko. Steve took this opportunity to swear it to keep whatever it was they would be talking about a secret.

Yuma turned to Kyoko, who shrugged.

"In that case," the greenette's smile morphed ever so slightly that while she was still smiling, it became a smile based on bitterness, "there was once a girl."

And Yuma told him of the girl who [Wished] to be of help to the girl who saved her. Of the cigarette scars on her forehead that she hid with her bangs; of how Yuma did not heal it because it was a reminder that trust and one's place in a family was earned. She also told Steve the little bits and pieces she knew about the bigger picture: girls protecting cities in the shadows, exchanging a miracle for a life of servitude, that giving up was to die.

Steve listened enraptured by the amazing and heartbreaking story of what Yuma had to go through. He felt an out-of-body experience when he saw her scars. He was bothered that Yuma refused to cure the scars, bothered of saying that one's place in a _family_ was something you _earned, _bothered by how someone as young as her was forced to endure so much at such a young age. However, "What's Mitakihara?"

Kyoko and Yuma exchanged glances. And for the first time since Yuma bared her soul to Steve, Kyoko spoke. This has been nagging at the back of her head, "I think, we came from… a different dimension." There, she said it. It may sound stupidly crazy to Steve, but it wasn't to hers. Japan and its history still existed, and it matched to the history that Kyoko remembered. Things were different, however. The era brought forth by the sacrifices of girls did not happened; things happened naturally but not because of the manipulation of Kyubey.

"Okay." Steve nodded seriously. He thought of times when Kyoko and Yuma would called the technology of their time backward despite the era brought by the advancement of technology by Stark Industries. There was a game in the arcade that Kyoko persistently looked for and Dance Dance Revolution was child's play according to the redhead.

"You believe us?" Yuma asked.

Steve nodded, "You're not someone who lies." He then turned to Kyoko, desperate to ask about her past, but he didn't push through. He figured this was the limit of how Kyoko was comfortable with him. Someday, he would ask her without hesitating..

"But," Steve looked at them, "if you are to hunt for these… [Wraiths] I want to supervise."

* * *

><p>On the second month of Mami's stay in the place, she placed her last handful of [Grief Cubes] she had back into her pocket. All the spent ones she had were currently in a pocket dimension that is on an opposite pocket. She was currently down the sewers. It was her first time going down here, with all the hectic-ness of settling down on a new routine <em>whilst<em> having a bodyguard around her. On the few times she was able to elude both Silver and Frank, Mami patrolled on the city.

Her presence, while she believed that she was capable of concealment, garnered the attention of those she tried to help from the side lines. The police force was at their wits end because of mystery that surrounded her ribbons. Criminals she was able to subdue with her magic, she wrapped in ribbons held by a heart-shaped padlock, and when a law enforcer touching the ribbons, it would make the ribbon vanish without a trace. Her magic ribbons have gotten such a response that scientists were starting to question their laws on physics. The media was even more ablaze when people were starting to think that Spider-man wasn't the only vigilante they have in the city.

Anyway, and alas, she was in the sewers. This was the only place in the city she hasn't looked. [Wraiths] were a natural phenomenon, according to Kyubey, and to not have [Wraiths] meant that their race (still according to Kyubey) has reached absolute peace and prosperity – something she wholehearted disbelieved.

She was mentally mapping out the places she visited in the sewers when she came across a very curious site: it was a settlement. For humanoid… beings. Makeshift houses made up of cardboard boxes, innumerable barrels that was lit aflame replaced street lights, and beings barely passable as human met Mami's eyes. These were not [Wraiths] however, there was no tug she felt when a [Wraith] was near.

She was just about to turn around when a literal sharpened bone came to her person. Had she been inexperienced, she would have been pierced by it, but alas, Mami was anything but inexperienced. She summoned a musket and deflected the bone with ease.

"Who are you?" came a voice from the shadows.

"No one." Mami replied soothingly, "I was just about to leave."

She was about to turn around when something burst from her pocket. The pocket of used [Grief Cubes]. An inhumane color of diseased blackness emerged, encasing her and the person who had thrown the sharpened bone.

When Mami's eyesight aligned, she found herself in a desolate dessert with a dusky sky tainted in smog. She was in a [Wraith]'s trap – a pocket dimension created when [Wraiths] grew in number so much that their presence affected reality.

"What did you do?" The voice that called out earlier shouted.

Mami turned to the figure and a redhead with literal bones sticking out of her body came to her in a frenzied panic. The redhead was gangly but lean, and had short hair, she slumped in a way that made Mami wince, all thanks to the bones sticking out of her back.

Mami wondered what had happened, especially with the used up [Grief Cubes] on her pocket, but questions should be asked later. For this woman's safety, she bound the woman in ribbons, earning a tirade of unflattering words towards Mami. She then erected a barrier that would keep her safe.

Turning around, she faced the direction where the pull of [Wraiths] were strong and summoned her muskets.

* * *

><p>"So, you still want to teach <em>me<em>, a [Magical Girl], _magic_?" Kyoko asked to Stephen Strange one Wednesday afternoon after school at the Xavier Institute. Yuma was beside Kyoko, being shielded by the older girl.

"Yes…"

"Sounds like a trap to me." Kyoko said dismissively.

"What do you mean?" Dr. Strange asked.

"Are you still planning on getting our [Grief Cubes]?"

* * *

><p>"...and Loki's scepter?"<p>

"Unaccounted for, sir."

Nick Fury grumbled pensively from his office.


	24. Act 3: It is War that Desire Ribbons

**Title**: _Incursio_

**Written By:** Mr. Omelette

**Disclaimer: **I'm not smart, artistic, enlightened and awesome enough to make either of them

**Spoilers: in order:** the Rebellion, Avengers (2012), Iron Man 3 movie, and now Captain America: Winter Soldier and Thor 2

**A/N: **...overdue update because of #ThesisIt.

**Summary: **_Homura observes all other possibilities with her new powers. And Madoka just wants cake._

* * *

><p>"The Well of Mimir has reached out to me."<p>

Her lord's words gave Frigga pause. Late into the night, it was only the king and the queen in the throne room. Guards were stationed outside, but they could not hear what was being said inside.

Every night, husband and wife spent a few moments of silence together.

Away from everyone.  
>Away from concerns.<br>Away from problems.

Time spent together was usually with a cup of liquor, or a moment by the fire. In that intimate moment, Odin was not the feared yet revered All-Father but was merely a husband. Here, he sheds his tough exterior and is free to express his worries. Here, he slowly turns weary and his battle-hardened splendor simply melts to a simple and open man weathered by time. Yet for all the in vulnerabilities his wife sees, Frigga loves this side of him the most, for this is his way of expressing his utmost trust and confidence in her.

"In that vision, something ominous is approaching."

"More ominous than He-Who-Subjugates-The-Stars?" She asked, turning to him. There was always the possibility that at any moment, the [Bane of Planets] would mark any of the Nine Realms as his. One of the roles of Heimdall is to see to it that such a scenario can be anticipated and avoided.

"Even the World Eater himself," Odin's solemn reply was quickly swallowed up by the silence.

"My lord…" Frigga swirled the liquor in her chalice in worry.

"What's worse is how he is looking for allies." It's bothersome, he thought with a sigh "In response, I shall make sure that those who have been imprisoned stay imprisoned." Odin said, using his [Artefact] as a clutch to stand upright, "As soon as possible."

Husband turned to his wife, "And in my absence, you are to take matters of our kingdom into your hands."

"I-" Frigga was aware of the implications of the journey Odin is preparing himself for: not only would he check the seals of the different threats he has imprisoned, like Ymir and the Dark Elves, but also inform those who reside in Takamagahara of the threat, if they weren't already. Make sure those who have been crippled stay crippled while informing allies of a possible threat. The preparations of a war.

"Do so not as my wife, but as the queen." Odin looked at her with warmth in his eye, "Lead our kingdom as the one who equaled me and more."

Frigga sighed, worried, and yet… "I will, my lord." For this is all she can do.

...for now.

* * *

><p>Steve was out of the apartment running. Behind him, Savin was hot on his heels. The two were chasing after two figures leaping from building to building. He ran so fast his lungs, enhanced they may be, <em>burned. <em>Yet, for all the pain his body was screaming at him, he never faltered.

"Wait up!" For a moment, Steve took a peek behind him. It's surprising that Savin could keep up with him, but then again, the Extremis project was a project modeled after the Super Soldier serum. Maya Hansen may have used the serum that birthed Steve as inspiration when realizing her work, from the too few notes of Abraham Erskine.

"Kyoko!" it was Steve's turn to call out to someone, "Yuma! Wait!" They passed people in the streets, most were caught off-guard at the speed of the two, but Steve could care less what they think about. At this moment, Steve cannot wrap his mind of how things went downhill considering how today was just like every other day.

Earlier, just like any other day after the debacle with Tony months ago, he woke up early. 5:45 to be precise. Maybe it's part of his military training and he's _still_ having a hard time adjusting to a normal society, but he's been like this since he's been defrosted. He doesn't need an alarm clock, and even if he slept late he'd still wake up at 5:45 sharp. It's one of those worrisome reminders that there was something odd (for Charles Xavier says 'wrong' is a very strong word) about Steve, and that it will be odd about Steve indefinitely.

It's both a blessing and a curse too; a curse because it too early and a blessing because he can (theoretically) do anything he wanted before Yuma and Kyoko would wake up. Being the outdoorsy type, Steve now use that time to exercise, not just the physical type but of the mental type as well: training is not only to maintain his physical faculties but also as a way to relieve distress. There were less people during this time so he can still do his best with his training-well, 'best' in terms of someone who is limiting himself because Steve can very much easily lift a ton of weight with ease.

Because of this, he is now seen by the neighborhood as a health nut, amongst other things. Part of the reason why the collective people of his somewhat suburban community calls him a health nut was because,

"Hey," a gruff voice called out to him, "Fancy seeing you here."

"Savin." Steve greeted casually. The blond was just about to finish his warm-up exercises before starting his jog when Eric Savin appeared. S.H.I.E.L.D. has placed Savin's residence nearby so Steve could easily check up on him. To say that there was a rivalry between them was a pretty big understatement, especially when it came to scoring '_onii-san/chan_' points from Yuma. Which was why, thirty minutes later (with Steve trying his best to _not _appear winded) the blond would secretly relish winning against Savin in circling their block _fifte__en_ times. He also _really _wanted to gloat over Savin who was usually sprawled on the floor, gasping for breath.

"Nice try." Steve would say, prolonging each syllable for as long he can but not to the point of appearing condescending. He would then usually leave the gasping man by himself as he did a quick walk over the nearby park where he continued his morning routines.

By the time it was seven, he would be slipping off his trainers right at their door, because goodness knows how S.H.I.E.L.D. managed to find a house similar to a Japanese one. At least, one that made both Yuma and Kyoko have a fit about the need of taking their shoes off at the entrance. Of course, Kyoko explains that the reason why the entrance was a feet below everything else was such that all dirty and wet gear can be left in the entrance and does not need to be brought into their home, hence the house stays clean. It's different but definitely worth practicing because it makes cleaning the floors easier. Their floors were supposedly (according to Yuma) so clean that the two girls were usually just barefoot or in their socks whenever their inside the house, much to the chagrin of Steve who used indoor slippers.

Kyoko and Yuma were very particular with cleanliness. Though Kyoko might whine about doing chores, she does hers dutifully and neatly. There is, however, a tad bit on laziness in Kyoko; for example, whenever she's in charge of doing the dishes for the day, Kyoko has picked up the habit of summoning cutlery by using her magic. Kyoko was usually very opposed to the idea of expending excess magic, but Steve supposes that her laziness is far stronger than her need to conserve her magic. Aside from that, Kyoko can do any other chore properly.

At this point, if Yuma was already awake, she's already making breakfast. And breakfast was usually a very... interesting affair. Yuma was the earlier riser of the two girls. As such, she's also taken it upon herself to be in-charge of making breakfast. Steve was pretty opposed to the idea of a child unattended in the kitchen, especially when it comes to cooking, but Yuma was quick to point out that _he_ was the disaster in the kitchen. Steve was only ever allowed to man the kitchen if it was a cereal day, or eat-take-outs-at-home brunch day. Another thing to note was Yuma's habit of doing ketchup doodles on their omelettes; Steve's usually a bunch of childish drawings of them three but with bigger eyes. Yuma and Kyoko also always seems to fight over pancakes, because Yuma believes that pancakes are _desserts_ and not breakfast food.

While Yuma is busy with cooking breakfast, Steve would take this time to prepare for work. Which means an extended time alone in a hot shower de-stressing. Their new place had a room that had a bathroom, which the three were quick to decide as Steve's -out of propriety. Basically, it's his bathroom and the only bathroom he's allowed to use. The other one was right beside Kyoko's room, which was shared by the two girls. It was agreed upon that in no way was he to enter theirs, which kind of makes sense to Steve, aside from the threat of bodily harm he received from Kyoko (should he use their bathroom).

After the shower, he would then pick out what to wear. Times of today was different because you now have to look 'smartly' dressed according to Sharon. Sharon was very generous, albeit a little too generous, at coaching the blond on how to dress smartly. Why was his pants a little too tight? Or why does his pants have to be so short, his ankles were exposed?

What're boat shoes, and why can he wear them even if he wasn't in a boat?  
>And what's with the need for a kind-of disheveled hairstyle?<br>Why must he always cuff his shirtsleeves?  
>Shorts paired with long-sleeved shirts?<br>What're chapsticks and why does Sharon insist on leaving one in a pocket of every coat he ever owned?  
>Why is Sharon always bugging him to invest on a good stylist, aren't barbers good enough?<br>What does 'metrosexual' mean and why do some of the neighborhood women are calling him that?

Anyway, what's most interesting during breakfast time was Kyoko. No matter how early the pre-teen sleeps, she almost always wakes up a few minutes before the start of class, right when Steve has finished his morning hot shower and was just finishing up wearing his clothes. Yuma was already waiting for them both by the time he takes his seat, already finished preparing for school. Yuma would then say '_itadakimasu_' before eating ahead, Steve tries to wait Kyoko but he'll soon follow Yuma's lead a little later. In the background, Kyoko could be heard frantically doing her best to get ready.

By the time the redhead was finished dressing up, he and Yuma were almost done with breakfast. Of course, despite this, Kyoko could literally inhale food without stopping, so when all was done, the three would fix their table and place their dishes in the sink, hosing them down with a bit of water, to be cleaned later at night.

When everyone was about to leave, Yuma would then start handing out their lunches. Again, how Yuma manages to make three separate lunches in a short amount of time amazes him.

The three would then walk to the nearest bus stop, leaving Steve there as the two walked to Charles Xavier's school. It was a short walk from their house to the school.

If Steve knew any better, his life was starting to revolve in one of those magical girls shows he watched with Yuma before.

By the time he arrived at work at 8:30 in the morning he would be greeted by a, "You're late." Or something of that kind. This came from his supervisor named Tabitha. She's stern-looking, salt-and-pepper-haired, and with a face set on a permanent frown. She is always dressed in neutral colors, in greys especially, and whose hair is always in a tight bun. Her dreary clothing motif and her general aura reminded Steve of one of his teachers during his childhood, in fact, if he saw her holding a meter stick one day, it wouldn't surprise him. To her, employees must be clocked in at 8:15, which is _really _fifteen minutes too early. Steve, however, is one of her too few favored employees because he always finishes his work on time and is polite to her and everyone else.

Blue Bolt Publishing is one of the trendier companies in the book world. It is said that before a genre becomes mainstream, Blue Bolt has already churned out three best-seller series about the genre. Steve belongs to the acquisitions department, where his job is to read manuscripts of hopefuls wanting to have their work published. He was given a two-by-two meter cubicle as his office which he sparsely decorated with a potted jade plant and a few textbooks and novels that he's managed to find from bargain shops.

Steve worked under an editor named Jilly. Jilly is a plump brunette in her thirties. She's easy to work with but is very chatty. Because of this, Steve has come to know that she is the breadwinner of her family, her husband is a full-time dad, and she has two daughters. Her office (on the few times he was summoned there because Jilly thinks a report he made on a manuscript could make the cut) is simple, small yet spacious. It's got small a bookshelf filled with literature and grammar books, all of which were hardbound, behind her desk. Her doctorate diploma, on something Steve always forgets, was framed right above it. In her desk was a stack of reports made by assistants like Steve. The reports were separated in two: the right one was those that have yet to be read while the left one were those who did not make the cut. In the short time, Steve has yet to have a manuscript he's read that is to be made into a book, which Jilly is quick to point out that making the cut rarely ever happens and that Steve was doing his job right and well. Especially since Steve was usually given the eclectic, odd and fusion-type manuscripts. Ironically he was also usually tasked with writing reports on pre- to post-industrial themed stories, suspense-y spy thrillers, steampunk-themed magical/non-magical stories, pre-1950's casa blanca-esque stories, and the occasional politics and political-themed stories.

As such, Steve was often exposed to a plethora of poorly-written stories. Oh, there was the rare diamond among stones and coal, but even those diamonds would unfortunately fall short in the competitive world that is publishing.

Jilly likes Steve in that he was not like one of those authors who think that working for a publishing company could be the shortcut to getting their story published as quickly as possible. The spot on her team that was given to Steve used to belong to such an author. It helps that he was pretty much pleasantly mannered and gentlemanly, cute too but he's too young for her and she's happily married.

At noon, Steve usually ate his lunch in his small cubicle instead of heading out to eat. Everyday, Steve would open his _bento_ and simply be amazed at the effort Yuma makes for lunch. This particular lunch was on a two layered container. The first one was full of riceballs that looked like bunnies and pandas, some fresh garden salad, and spam _musubi. _On the second one were fresh grapes and strawberries.

Steve doesn't have many friends in his workplace, but not because he was unlikeable. He was one of the more noticeable employees of the company, with a lot of ladies (and a few men) checking him out. Actually, if they were in Japan, Steve would be classed as a _bishie _in the work place. The reason why people were wary of him was because of the three women in his workplace. Tabitha was basically the first buffer they had to go through. His cubicle is right in front of Tabitha's office, which she always keeps open. Since the entrance of his cubicle is right in front of her door, she can basically monitor anyone who wishes to disturb the working man and _no one_ gets past the gaze of Tabitha. Jilly was the second, who, with smiles and niceness, could scarily use kindness as a killer weapon; it was not a threat when Jilly says that you shouldn't fraternize in the company, especially with a nice man like Steve. It could be said that Tabitha and Jilly were protective to a fault, but that's just because workplace romance (they believe) is not for Steve and the company.

Tabitha treated Steve as a favored nephew. Jilly treated him like a son. The third woman of Steve's worklife was Natasha Romanov, his... handler. On the few times where Steve's skillset was needed by S.H.I.E.L.D. (read: as a valuable field agent and as a babysitter of Savin in said field), Natasha was the liaison between him and S.H.I.E.L.D. She infiltrated the company playing as an editor who worked with overseas authors. Coworkers could only look at Steve in envy as he accompanied Natasha to England, Paris, Japan and other countries to meet with would-be authors. Males are especially leery at Steve because not only does he get to travel, he gets to travel with a bombshell like Natasha (alias Molly). In a way, his coworker's perceived blessing Steve had with his business travel has become as a social stumbling block for Steve, though Steve has yet to notice this yet. What co-workers did not know is that while Steve did go overseas, it's usually off preventing an international disaster with Natasha, Savin, Clint and/or Sharon.

What's funny was, while S.H.I.E.L.D. was non-profit, the story Natasha has made for her alias and for Steve was so solid, Steve is actually being _paid_ to working overseas; his expenses on such trips were not only shoulder by Blue Bolt Publishing, he was also paid to travel around the world. So Steve was actually one of the few heroes, aside from the Luke Cage's [Heroes For Hire], getting paid for doing heroic deeds. Though Steve's is due to unsuspecting and indirect means.

By the time it was 5 or 6, depending on the situation of the book report he's currently doing, he would start packing up his things and prepare to go home. Steve would bid farewell to his boss Jilly, wave goodbye to Tabitha at her office and make his way to the company elevator. This was usually the time where his colleagues interacted with him. Once Tabitha, Jilly and Natasha were out of the picture, others came to Steve like moths to a flame. When he first got here, people actually _waited_ for him by the elevator so they could talk to him. The usuals were Sarah who did reports on teen romance (she's one of the more talkative ones), Monica whose gaze made Steve feel like a piece of meat, Levi who usually trailed behind him like a kicked puppy who only wanted affection, and Zane who tries so hard to establish himself as 'top dog' by doing his best to intellectually humiliate Steve (but fails horribly in every chance he gets)-Yuma quickly described Zane as a _tsundere_. In his entire 8:30 to 5:30 work, this was the most time he interacted with others.

Dinner was always with Kyoko and Yuma. If Yuma had the time, she made simple yet tasteful dishes for the three of them. Sometimes, if Yuma had cooked a lot, she invited Eric Savin over, much to Steve's chagrin. Today, Yuma served up chicken teriyaki with some stir fried vegetables accompanied by heaping bowls of rice and some miso soup that they were able to buy on an asian-themed supermarket. Steve was still learning how to become proficient in chopsticks so Kyoko was pretty lenient with correcting Steve's table manners.

During dinner, Yuma told the two that her friend Molly (the one from school, not Natasha) gave her a copy of a movie she wanted to watch. Steve didn't understand much of the details of the movie but since the greenette was very enthusiastic about the movie, Steve ended up being curious, which led to the three of them (because Yuma wanted Kyoko there too) in the living room, with a bowl of popcorn for each of them.

They were halfway through the movie when both girls jolt up from their seat.

"_Nee-chan_…" Yuma's concerned eyes was serious, her hand already grasping her [Soul Gem].

"You felt it too, didn't you?" Kyoko asked to the greenette.

"What's happening?" Steve asked, placing the bowl on the side.

"[Wraiths]." Kyoko's fleeting reply.

[Wraiths] are creatures that Yuma and Kyoko once fought from their original world. The creatures had this suffocating aura around them that made Steve feel heavy-headed, like there was a weight placed in his body that made him pessimistic.

"But didn't you say that there are no more of those things?" Luckily, Yuma and Kyoko were of the mindset that the problem the [Wraiths] brought was taken care of. The only reason why the kids 'farmed' these creatures was due to their need to constantly purify their [Soul Gem]. Purifying their [Soul Gem] meant letting their used up [Grief Cubes] coalesce the negative miasma present in the city to produce a [Wraith].

According to Stephen Strange, their 'farming' technique had an indirect good effect on the city because the miasma of negative energy somehow affected how people behave and if what Kyoko and Yuma are doing is controlling the miasma of the city, then that meant that the people of New York were generally less likely to be influenced by negative emotions. It was actually not within impossibility that Kyoko and Yuma's [Farming] directly lessened negativity, like suicide rates, of the city, said Stephen Strange.

Kyoko looked at Yuma. "I'll check it out." Before heading for the door, her form giving off a bright red light.

"I'm coming with you!" Yuma called, transforming as well.

Outside, Steve was only barely able to keep up with the girls overhead.

* * *

><p>Kyoko was having a very normal day. That is, for someone who is a character in a magical girl manga. Everything was normal before feeling the pull generated by the [Wraiths].<p>

She woke up twenty minutes before her first class  
>She made a quick ten-minute effort to get ready<br>She greeted Yuma who was already ready for school  
>She went to eat breakfast in a span of seventy-two seconds<br>She gave a nod to Steve before she and Yuma left the house  
>She and Yuma walked to school.<p>

Your standard shojo manga prologue storyline. _Damn it._

Then, she was at school doing boring manga-esque classes. _Damn it_. It followed by a fun hour of PE in the Danger Room taught by Wolverine (to her, it was fun). Kyoko met up with Yuma and their friends Megan and Laura (weird huh?) for lunch. The rest of the school day all blurred out, with boring classes and all.

After school, Kyoko walked to her _other _school - the one that made her feel like a shojo manga character because they taught magic. Accompanying her were Yuma and Megan, who was scouted by Doctor Strange as someone with the potential for magic. There, she met up with her _other _friends Billy Kaplan and the Japanese migrants Subaru, Maki and Misaki. The lessons there were of the magical trope kind, in a time-displaced area so because while she was only gone for two hours outside, she had actually spent six hours studying magic from teachers such as Agatha Harkness, Ian McNee and Dr. Strange. Ian McNee called Kyoko as a prodigy and seemed to have a keen interest on the redhead. Anyway, after school, Kyoko walked home with Yuma. Since it was only a little passed 5 when they came home, it's at this time when she and Yuma started their assignments.

Of course, it wouldn't be much of a shojo manga if the character does not complain about homework: Kyoko has a personal grudge against anything related to math, and was often cursing her instructor Scott Summers for making her life miserable.

When Steve arrived sometime passed six, Yuma has only really started preparing dinner. Like clockwork, the three would eat dinner at 7:30. Today, when dinner has passed, Kyoko found herself in the living room placing a USB port on their flatscreen. Yuma has been wanting to watch a movie the three of them failed to watch in the theaters sometimes ago. Luckily for the greenette, their mutant friend Megan had a copy of the movie in her laptop, and was quick give Yuma a copy.

When the movie was almost done, Kyoko felt something foreboding.

[Wraiths]

Well, damn it.

* * *

><p>Mami, for the first time since landing here in foreign soil, felt at ease. Odd that Mami thought she was more at ease blowing the heads of [Wraiths] than the charades she did with Frank. Before she made contact with her enemies, she had checked her pockets and sure as the sun rising on the east, her used up [Grief Cubes] were gone. That could be where all these [Wraiths] came from. She <em>was<em> aware of that myth from that backwater village.

What mattered to her now was how she had managed to replenish her supply of [Grief Cube], if she survived facing the horde of enemies.

What did _not_ matter was how overwhelmed she was because she's fought against worse odds before. There was a time when she fought in a [Wraith Nest], purifying the place _while _fighting a particularly psychopathic girl. Then there was the time when she fought against a group of _experienced_ girls because they wanted to invade her territory in Mitakihara while trying to save a group of [Wraith]-influenced people about to set themselves on fire.

She raised a hand in the air and innumerable muskets filled the area. "Tiro-"

* * *

><p>Before Marrow had her entire focus centered on the girl, she was trying to break free from the flimsy looking ribbons that were wrapped around her. Turns out, they only looked flimsy; whenever she tried to form spikes that would hopefully destroy the ribbons, the ribbons did not even falter.<p>

Marrow heard the undeniable sound of gunshots. She looked over the girl. Her jaw dropped.

* * *

><p>Frigga was served tea in Takamagahara. They were in Amaterasu's domain in Takamagahara, as such, they were seated in comfortable tatami mats, in respect to Amaterasu's culture. In the room were the differing queens of most, if not, all pantheons, Amaterasu was doing what she described as 'Tea Ceremony' for each of the person.<p>

She had asked for their presence today for one reason: "I wish to let our Valkyries scout for worthy souls again."

Beside her, Isis and Hera whispered in hushed tones. Of the Celtic queen, she merely tilted her head. The Mayan queen crossed her arms, while others were louder. The Aztec queen hummed thoughtfully.

She waited for the roused crowd to settle before continuing, "Something is coming. Something that even the Well of Mimir, a tool we use for scrying, felt the need to inform us." It was rare for the [Artefact] to even reach out to inform her king of a possible threat in the first place. In fact, long ago, when Surtur and his particularly nasty army wanted domain over the Nine Realms, the Well of Mimir did not show anyone any vision of his attempts.

"When I tried other scrying methods, they _all_ gave an ominous foreboding. Have any of you tried to divine it as well?" Some of the queen goddesses with prophetic powers or divinating tools slowly nodded in understanding.

"I think," she said as she sat upright, "I think we should prepare for this ominous sign." Those who knew her before becoming the queen of Asgard knew that the woman right here was not the wife of Odin, who willingly let herself be tamed out of choice and love. Sitting in front of them was the queen of Asgard, the woman who stood equal if not more so than the man who imprisoned entire races, who felled primordial beings, and who subjugated anything that threatened the prosperity of his kingdom. It was the unbridled Frigga who, long ago, was a spirit so free she was often compared to a typhoon.

Somewhere, there were footsteps approaching. "While your desire might be deemed an appropriate measure to handle such a foreboding future, are you not breaking the oath your husband made to those of higher power?" In front of the group of assembled woman was Izanami, or Gaea's many different incarnations depending on the queen who saw her. She was the [Mother of All], a title she had because all of those in the hall were related to all, and in turn, in deference to her. "Are you not destroying the trust the Celestials have placed in your king by breaking his oath?"

Frigga leaned forward, accepting the cup of tea Amaterasu prepared for her with thanks, "He has made that promise to the Celestials before he became my equal, Mother." _He made that promise before he and I got married, thus that oath does not apply to me_.

"Oh?" Izanami, or Jord in Frigga's eyes, tilted her head, "But do you not hold his kingdom for when the king is unavailable?"

"I do." Frigga said without hesitation, "But his actions are not my actions. And my actions are not his actions. While we want nothing more than continued peace, there are times when continued peace must be fought for. And in fighting, preparedness is the key."

So Frigga was banking on the idea that a loophole would be what she needed to prepare her forces necessary to stop the upcoming threat.

* * *

><p>"You have summoned us, my queen?" Brunnhilde, and eleven others, knelt in front of their queen. In Sessrúmnir, Frigga was the ruler. Here, her word was [Law]. It had been a long time since warriors such as herself has been summoned in this very hall. The last of which was when Asgard was besieged by Surtur's forces; when Odin's army marched to subjugate, Frigga's were to gather allies and to maintain defenses.<p>

"Dear warriors," Frigga stood up from her throne, "an ominous presence is approaching, such was the prophecy my lord has received from the Well of Mimir." No one said anything, but the gathered warriors felt a chill at her words, "The hard-earned peace our kingdom has fought for stand at the cusp of destruction."

"Look at me, dear warriors." Slowly, all eyes that settled on the floor met hers, "then look at everyone." Brunnhilde did just that. In this hall, those that stood beside her were warriors she's fought with. Comrades she gladly face [Death] with. But-

"My Valkyries," Frigga's words were soft but filled with mirth and pride, "It is time once again that we gather allies, time once again for our foes to realize that we are unyielding to those that desire to subjugate us. We are warriors, we fight. We look straight into the eye of the monster and slay it with our steel. We are warriors, we protect. We give all that we have because we desire to protect those that we love from harm." Taking a step forward, Frigga placed a hand over her heart, "We are warriors of Asgard! We strike fear in the hearts of our enemy and while cleansing the Nine Realms from harm."

Brunnhilde, at first shocked at the declaration that Frigga has once again reinstated her as a Valkyrie, felt the empowered by her queen's speech. It was only then that it registered to her that all in the hall were once Valkyries.

"My queen," Brunnhilde heard Valtrauta's voice, "We are yours to command."

* * *

><p>"<em>Gather me souls, my dear warriors. Gather those who are worthy of walking the [Warrior's Hall]. Gather those who have fought and died for their cause.<em>"

"Brother," Sif looked at Heimdall, "Are the words of our queen true? That a threat is coming our way?"

The stoic man never left his [Gaze] on the Nine Realms, "There are things beyond the reach of my [Sight]." The day before, their lord and a few of his most trusted retainers set on a journey throughout the Nine Realms. A portion of his attention was spent [Gazing] at the king. They were currently in a place that had sealed a particularly nasty dimensional being just outside the World Tree. "The Well of Mimir predates my [Sight] but its [Gaze] leaps farther than mine."

"The Valkyries are on the move again." Sif said, worriedly.

"I trust the queen's judgement."

"But-" Sif wanted to say that their queen was committing treason to the oath their king made to the Celestials once.

"_Enough_," Heimdall, for a fraction of a second, settled his eyes on his sister. Beloved she may be to him, her words and actions left an unwanted taste in his mouth, "In our king's absence, the queen shall rule. My dear sister, while you have yet to see our queen in all her glory, trust me when I say this: she knows what she's doing."

There was a moment of silence between brother and sister before Heimdall felt something. A moment later, a portal opened. Sif's sword was in her hand, as was Heimdall's weapon in his. A moment passed before a woman emerged from the portal..

"Greetings! I am Athena Parthenos, I come at the behest of my queen, to lend aid to your queen."

Heimdall's gaze fell into the intruder before saying, "It's been a long time."

The woman laughed, "Yes, it has been."

* * *

><p>The only good thing that came out with this assignment was how the [Demon] immediately gave what she promised; she and the others were once again with a forgotten friend.<p>

It was unfortunate, the [Goddess]' imprisonment, but at this point, she knew that her friend was more important that [She Who Offered Salvation]. For as long as her friend got to live, and was _remembered_, she would glad do what it was that Homura asked.

"Subaru," she called out from the kitchen, "have you eaten?"

* * *

><p>"Loki, my son!" Frigga's voice was hysterical as she entered his cell. When word reached her ears that her child has been imprisoned, the first thing she did – despite preparing for war – was to leave everything behind.<p>

The state she found her son made her even more hysterical. Tending to the queen's aid was Eir, and the queen spent no time ordering her to help ease his son's plight.

Loki was quiet for a moment before shrugging off the hand that tried to help him.

* * *

><p>There was a new viral video over at Youtube. Click on the video, the viewer would be faced with the content creator. He was a man of impeccable or garish (depending on the person) fashion taste. Garbed of a silky white suit, his strawberry blonde hair meshed well with his green waistcoat.<p>

Clicking on 'play'…

"_Hello, my name is Arcade_._ I go by many occupations with 'villain' being the recurring theme of my exploits._" He smiled an easy smile, like he was making small talk, "_You will remember my most distinguished work, the 'Murderworld'_." The screen would shift to a shot of Wolverine, in his blue-and-yellow costume, unsheathing his claws. The screen would then shift to show a teenaged redhead, showcasing her ability to turn into gas. Another shift and Spider-man and Black Cat facing against a horde of thugs.

"_I am a content creator._" The screen shifted to a scene where Constrictor was up against Lady Deathstrike, "_I am neither a villain nor an enemy._" Arcade showed a thoughtful look, "_Though I do understand where these sentiments would come from_."

The next screen showed teenaged superheroes, an assortment of heroes from the Young Allies and even mutants from the Xavier Institute, led by Jubilee uniting under a single barrier. "_I am a content creator. A person whose vision is to showcase the best and worst humanity has to offer._" He grinned an easy grin, "_I would reckon that my vision clashes against society, but ultimately that is not my concern. The few – or is it the many? – that have died in my projects are indeed unfortunate, but at the end of the day, I am more concerned with encapsulating human nature through my works._"

His eyebrows scrunched, "_I do not take pleasure in the death of others, even the pain my works induce to people. Take note of that."_ The screen shifted to blurred out, grayed out and muted scenes of death. It was not explicit in the video, but the message was there._ "But to see humanity in conflict and in resolution, to see people – and that includes mutants and aliens – present heroism and cowardice, empathy and cruelty, unity and solidarity, chaos and order, even sapience and stupidity in a nice, tidy and chaotic form that is these," _The scene shifted to the entrances of Arcade's many different works,_ "that is what I am after._"

A cough off-screen brought out Arcade from his stupor, and the scene shifts that captured that. Shaking his head, Arcade thanked his assistant, "_I apologize for my unwarranted spiel._" The charismatic intellectual persona that he had donned simply vanished. Like changing one's glasses, his entire aura shifted. He was still charismatic, but gone was the highfalutin aspect of his mask.

"_Anyway, as you can tell from the video,"_ he pointed up the screen, which viewers would follow and read, "_this video is a video showing footage of mutants against the army. Nope, not just ordinary military personnel – these are super-powered military personnel. What made me say military personnel? Well, these people said so,"_

The video shifted to a man in a red and black tight suit. Two katanas strapped in an x-shape on his back and guns held in both arms, "_Yeah, because Deadpool said so, got it?"_ The distinguishable movement of his mask that indicated his mouth curving into a smile was seen, "_The video's awesome, by the way_."

Deadpool's screentime shifted to that of Lady Deathstrike, "_I too have fought and killed my fair share, and I can assure you that these mutants are up against highly-trained, highly-experienced, probably black-ops ex-military people._" A shot of one of these ex-military showed him with hands blazing, "_Super-powered at that._"

"_So how's Arcade manage to get you here?_" Deadpool asked off-screen. Lady Deathstrike merely raised a hand at him and extended her talons.

The video then went on to show the battle mutants against the Extremis-powered people. Deadpool even quipped that the title was wrong because the Avengers were there as well, albeit fighting at the other side of the pier.

When Shadowcat levitating into the air showed her nearing towards the US president hanging from a dangerous height, Lady Deathstrike and Deadpool commented, "_Jean_" at the same time. By the end of it, Deadpool was booing off-screen because of the explosion made by the Iron Man suits, and because, "_…needs more footage of Wolverine getting shot over and over again._" Something Lady Deathstrike herself agreed upon, for the first time since the video started.

The video has garnered so much attention that in just one week after being posted, it placed as the third most viewed, non-music video content on Youtube, beating 'Charlie bit my finger – again!' Blogs, reaction videos, even traditional media has given their own opinions about it.

Subsequently, the video, despite being made for entertainment purposes, was a huge blow for Senator Kelly's anti-mutant campaign. Thaddeus Ross also lost whatever military and political clout he had due to everyone's initial belief that they were his men. Especially since the White House has deemed it fit to award the citizens who have helped the president on national television. Shadowcat's face as she received her award and got hugged by the president's wife was even immortalized into a meme.

Captain America was supposed to attend but was unable to, not because he was uninformed, but because he was busy at that time–keeping Tony from attending. Steve believed it would have been disastrous if Tony attended, something War Machine agreed at.

* * *

><p>"The All-Father is on the move." Amora told her ally.<p>

"Is he?" the Mandarin's ten rings glinted in the darkness. He and Amora were slowly chipping away the seal place on the Dark Elves. Slowly chipping because they did not want to draw attention to themselves.

"Word has it that he has been roaming around the Nine Realms visiting places where he once sealed entire races." Amora wave a hand at a particular rule, making it fizz out.

"Should we be troubled?" he asked.

"From the direction of their journey, they would be visiting this place during the final stages."

"Plenty of time for us to do our deed and wipe our traces, I presume."

"But of course," Amora said, flipping her golden hair.

* * *

><p>"So the actors have taken the stage…" Homura whispered, sipping her tea.<p>

* * *

><p>The third act.<br>Women of War.


End file.
